Re: Allan on articulated tractors

Posted by captaink on June 15, 2005 at 07:46:56 from (66.115.214.56):

In Reply to: Allan on articulated tractors posted by Hugh MacKay on June 15, 2005 at 03:26:17:

Well, I’m going to pour some gas on the fire now and probably end up with third degree burns, but I would like to encourage some deep thinking here.

It seems to me that our current society is based on the premise that bigger is better. Larger businesses including farming or ranching can spread fixed costs like family living and health insurance over a larger asset base which means that the profit margin and return on investment can be a lot smaller per unit. There was and probably still are available quantity discounts for large purchasers. See Wal-Mart as an example here. This philosophy has trickled down to ag. In my area there used to be at least two farms to a square mile 40 years ago. Now, I’m lucky to find two genuine full time farmers making a living off the land in ten square miles!

I still attribute this phenomenon mostly to fathers wanting to hand down the farm to their son(s) and still keep on farming themselves. This desire is admirable and ideally will not decrease the population but in reality it has. Since the prices for farm products have not gone up since the 1940’s farmers have had to find more cost efficient ways to produce and produce more from the same land base. Unfortunately these strategies have included the economies of large scale and willingness to invest in the latest technologies. It really doesn’t matter if the technology we are talking about is retiring Mr. Ed to the stable in lieu of an H Farmall or investing in global positioning equipment so that we can more effectively apply inputs to the land. Until the economy reaches a point where the small businessman can find his niche in the market I believe this upsizing spiral will continue and will continue to see fewer neighbors and larger equipment. As others have pointed out, there will be another downturn probably in the near future where operators will be forced to sell out or get bailed out again by government subsidies, but again, that is part of the current philosophy of our world. Keep in mind that the farm bill for many years had the official title of “Food and Securities Act” and that other countries as well see to it that food is available at affordable prices for their people.

Now, it that didn’t raise your blood pressure the following probably will. I have read on here several times where bankers catch the blame when a farmer ends up broke but have never seen one recognized when someone is successful. A banker is just a middleman who’s job is to take money that people have deposited in his bank and loan it to people that prove to him they are a good risk and can pay it back. The banker job is to do all the proper work to the best of his ability to ensure that the person entrusting him with their money will get it back plus interest. He is not the financial manager of the business or individual borrowing the money, nor should a borrower expect the banker to be an expert in his business regardless if it be farming or General Motors. He should be knowledgeable about financial reports like balance sheets and profit and loss statements so that he can recognize a sound business or problems in a business if they arise. I don’t take my car to my dentist for his opinion on getting the transmission fixed, why do we expect our banker to tell us when it is good for us to borrow money?

I have borrowed my share of money in the past and present. Some times I have regretted it, others not. The bottom line still is that whenever I borrowed money it was always MY idea, MY want, or even MY GREED that had me signing on the line to use and pay someone else to use their money. No one has ever held a gun to my head and forced me to borrow money.

When I decided to quit farming several years ago, it was my decision, based on my own knowledge and analysis of my business situation. I am currently working on staring a business so that I can be on my own as I’m tired of working for the large corporate conglomerates that really don’t “give a turkey” about me and just see me and their other employees as an expense. Because of this I have some money borrowed again and am working long hours in an attempt to make this work.

I know this has been long, but felt I needed to express my thoughts. I’m sorry and apologize if I offended anyone here by what I have said. That was not my intent. However, I do believe in what the good book says about removing the beam from our own eye before we try to find the speck in our neighbor’s eye (paraphrase). A lot of our problems we bring on ourselves either as individuals or as a collective.

End of sermon. Thanks for reading. I now have my flame retardant suit on! :>)

Follow Ups:

• Re: Allan on articulated tractors Hugh MacKay 08:49:33 06/15/05 (0)
• Re: Allan on articulated tractors Allan in NE 07:56:33 06/15/05 (0)

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