salmonchaser
Ammo Smith
- Dec 13, 2013
- 5,698
- 7,581
Earlier this year the Trump Administration cancelled a program that paid small farmers for fresh produce supplied to schools in their area. Great program guaranteeing a market for small farmers and gives the kids fresh spinach opposed to that canned stuff from some where else. My daughter is one of those farmers, runs a small but some years profitable farm to table; farm to market operation. The school program is Not a real money maker, ROI is less than 5%, but she loves delivering the food to the schools. When the program was cancelled She sold what she could at farmers markets and her road side stand, I plowed the rest under hoping next year is better.
Then I noticed some of the big guys plowing fields early. Whats up I asked my daughter. Feds arn’t honoring the USAID contracts. Basically told us tough shit, they’re not paying.
Then China said we ain’t playing, we’ll go elsewhere. Drove across the valley last week and seeing cattle grazing on standing crops. Brands I don’t recognize. Couple of the farmers made a good call, contracted with some big producers and are finding a way to get rid of stuff they can’t sell.
Farming decisions arn’t made weeks in advance, at a minimum a year in advance, more often three years out. Going to be tough to be a farmer. When the Great Depression started about 1/2 the farms in the country were not well mechanized or electrified. When prices collapsed and money supply dried up farmers were left with one viable option. Produce more. With 1920s technology they easily flooded the market that had no buyers. Farm prices collapsed land went fallow.
Our county is small, heavily agricultural. Good elk hunting. A little over 2000 square miles, a little over 20,000 people, with 20% of those folks receiving snap benefits. Typical of Eastern Oregon, always votes republican.
The daughter has been a conservative all her life. Has a huge compassionate streak and is scary tough at 5’01” and 100 pounds even. With the government shutdown she has advertised on the local facebook page her farm stand is open and folks on SNAP just leave a note in the till. There are another half dozen farm stands around the valley following her lead. Then she started marching up to the big farmers. Those with produce they can’t market are helping out.
Yesterday Cat and I went to town and found the daughter unloading 4’x4’ potato crates across from the market. Free from some of the local farmers who were just going to plow them under since they couldn’t sell them. Free taters draw a crowd.
Warren Buffet offered many years ago the solution to the constant budget problems in this country was simple. If in any year Congress does not deliver a balanced budget the members of the Senate and House are fired. He recognized that the folks we elected quickly figure out they are on the gravy train and very quickly they spend more time getting reelected than doing what they should be doing, negotiating for the good of the people, not so they can stay on the gravy train and produce little of what they should be doing.
Today I’m moving the old bus stop shed up to the farm stand. Folks who can, have donated so much canned and dry food my daughter needs more room to store it so she can keep the farm stand supplied.
The kid is a worker, proud of her. Wish she would run for office, she would get things done.
Then I noticed some of the big guys plowing fields early. Whats up I asked my daughter. Feds arn’t honoring the USAID contracts. Basically told us tough shit, they’re not paying.
Then China said we ain’t playing, we’ll go elsewhere. Drove across the valley last week and seeing cattle grazing on standing crops. Brands I don’t recognize. Couple of the farmers made a good call, contracted with some big producers and are finding a way to get rid of stuff they can’t sell.
Farming decisions arn’t made weeks in advance, at a minimum a year in advance, more often three years out. Going to be tough to be a farmer. When the Great Depression started about 1/2 the farms in the country were not well mechanized or electrified. When prices collapsed and money supply dried up farmers were left with one viable option. Produce more. With 1920s technology they easily flooded the market that had no buyers. Farm prices collapsed land went fallow.
Our county is small, heavily agricultural. Good elk hunting. A little over 2000 square miles, a little over 20,000 people, with 20% of those folks receiving snap benefits. Typical of Eastern Oregon, always votes republican.
The daughter has been a conservative all her life. Has a huge compassionate streak and is scary tough at 5’01” and 100 pounds even. With the government shutdown she has advertised on the local facebook page her farm stand is open and folks on SNAP just leave a note in the till. There are another half dozen farm stands around the valley following her lead. Then she started marching up to the big farmers. Those with produce they can’t market are helping out.
Yesterday Cat and I went to town and found the daughter unloading 4’x4’ potato crates across from the market. Free from some of the local farmers who were just going to plow them under since they couldn’t sell them. Free taters draw a crowd.
Warren Buffet offered many years ago the solution to the constant budget problems in this country was simple. If in any year Congress does not deliver a balanced budget the members of the Senate and House are fired. He recognized that the folks we elected quickly figure out they are on the gravy train and very quickly they spend more time getting reelected than doing what they should be doing, negotiating for the good of the people, not so they can stay on the gravy train and produce little of what they should be doing.
Today I’m moving the old bus stop shed up to the farm stand. Folks who can, have donated so much canned and dry food my daughter needs more room to store it so she can keep the farm stand supplied.
The kid is a worker, proud of her. Wish she would run for office, she would get things done.
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