Many farmers in the Delta are pleading for financial help from the government, warning that low prices, high costs and tariffs could push many into bankruptcy. CNN’s Dianne Gallagher reports.
I talked to my farming buddy about this. He said it’s definitely a real thing especially for soybeans. But he’ll probably just end up storing more from his harvest this year and ride it out. I know every situation is different, but just thought I’d throw that out there.
But he’ll probably just end up storing more from his harvest this year and ride it out.
Then your buddy is better prepared than like 90% of farmers, who hsve overleveraged the hell out of their holdings and have debts they counted on selling this year’s harvest to service. The (immediate) problem isn’t so much that farmers have a glut of product to sell, it’s that the farming sector, like almost every other productive sector in the global north is finsncialized to hell and back, getting strapped to the global financial system like a suicide vest that starves you to death instead of blowing you up.
Hell, even if you don’t have large operational debt, the capacity for storage you need to ride out these kinds of things requires large capital investments: money most farmers don’t have at hand, and get loans for. I’m sure it was a genius move to plug the food system to part of the economy that’s been the cause the past 3 or 4 times there was a recession. No problems there.
What does “store more and ride it out” look like. I don’t know the shelf life of soybeans even in ideal conditions but I don’t see China changing course and suddenly buying more next year.
Difference in a society that makes plans on a 10, 50 and 100 year time frame and a society that would let you pay them $100 to burn your house down because hey, it’s $100 they didn’t have before.
Monitor the markets and haul when they spike. Don’t know how long they stay good but probably a couple years maybe. You’ll lose some to rot over time but it’s better than selling low. He mostly grows corn and has pigs too so it’s not like that’s his only source of income.
I talked to my farming buddy about this. He said it’s definitely a real thing especially for soybeans. But he’ll probably just end up storing more from his harvest this year and ride it out. I know every situation is different, but just thought I’d throw that out there.
Then your buddy is better prepared than like 90% of farmers, who hsve overleveraged the hell out of their holdings and have debts they counted on selling this year’s harvest to service. The (immediate) problem isn’t so much that farmers have a glut of product to sell, it’s that the farming sector, like almost every other productive sector in the global north is finsncialized to hell and back, getting strapped to the global financial system like a suicide vest that starves you to death instead of blowing you up.
Hell, even if you don’t have large operational debt, the capacity for storage you need to ride out these kinds of things requires large capital investments: money most farmers don’t have at hand, and get loans for. I’m sure it was a genius move to plug the food system to part of the economy that’s been the cause the past 3 or 4 times there was a recession. No problems there.
What does “store more and ride it out” look like. I don’t know the shelf life of soybeans even in ideal conditions but I don’t see China changing course and suddenly buying more next year.
Difference in a society that makes plans on a 10, 50 and 100 year time frame and a society that would let you pay them $100 to burn your house down because hey, it’s $100 they didn’t have before.
Monitor the markets and haul when they spike. Don’t know how long they stay good but probably a couple years maybe. You’ll lose some to rot over time but it’s better than selling low. He mostly grows corn and has pigs too so it’s not like that’s his only source of income.
Plus, burning down the house increases GDP once you rebuild it