You are asking a complicated question. I would echo the others in that there were many factors. The 1980 grain embargo, if I'm not mistaken, was only against the Soviet Union. (Others need to confirm this detail). Nonetheless, they were a big customer at the time.
It was not unprecedented- Nixon had closed the ports to all grain exports early in the 70's to "curtail inflation."
Nixon's trade deal was at the beginning of "good times" in ag, and Carter's Grain Embargo at the end.
Since then, both parties have been wiser to foreign trade, and this has been good for ag. The bigger issue lately has been currency values- yes, other things too, but how much we export has a strong correlation with the value of the $. The recent commodities boom was fueled by a low $, willing customers in asia with strong economies, world-wide weather issues, ethanol becoming mainstream in the US, and a host of other things.
As for what caused the BTO's, it wasn't the embargo (that hurt everybody, big and small). It had more to do with farm policy, crop insurance, the want to spread fixed costs by some and the want to get out by others. It has been that way for a long time, and in a lot of different industries. There are currently only about 6 major railroads in North America, where in 1950 the number would have been closer to 100. Auto maker numbers have declined; oil companies, coal companies, retailers, etc. We are not alone- perhaps we are better off than many industries.
I make my living farming. Our paycheck comes from the sale of milk, cows, calves, corn, soy, wheat, and we have added a value added product- cheese. I am disappointed that most major candidates for president today (both sides!) seem bent on trade disruption. That scares me. We do not need to repeat the 1980s. Or the 1930s.
Upload one or more videos to your post. Photo filesizes should be less than 300K and Videos, less than 2MB. Formats allowed are gif, jpg, png, ogg, mp4, mov, and avi. Be sure to use filenames without spaces or special characters, and filetypes of 3 digits lower case.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Gatherin of the Orange - by Rick Nikolich. In July of 1998 I was talking to fellow Allis Chalmers collector Mike Schilling about the annual "Gathering of The Orange" AC show coming up in August of 1999. He got this wild idea that we should get a convoy of AC tractors and drive them from Charlotte, Michigan 105 miles to LaGrange, Indiana.
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
Sell 1958 Hi-Altitude Massey Fergerson tractor, original condition. three point hitch pto engine, Runs well, photos available upon request
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
