Being raised on a small family farm, I would have to defend the farmers on this issue. These comments are my opinions and are not based on any research. I will admit that I have heard of some "farmers" that have full time jobs off the farm that abuse the subsidy system. But, there are many who are legitimate full time farmers just trying to get by another day without going under. All a farmer wants is to be able to sell or trade what he/she raises at a fair price and be able to keep up with the rest of society with regards to the standard of living. The standard of living has a lot to do with subsidies. Underdeveloped countries do not have the taxes we have here, or have to spray with EPA approved pesticides that can cost $300/gallon. Tractors that can cost $120,000 are a necessity and not a luxury. Many times if you drive by an operating farm, you may see a plain house, nothing fancy, maybe in some need of repair. Then you look at the equipment that the farmer needs to complete the work, and you might have 3-4 times the value of the house sitting in the barn. Many people do not understand the overhead that a farmer has to pay for. With inflation raising the costs for everything around the farmer, that has to come off the bottom line which eats into whatever profits he/she made. A perfect example: when my father started farming 30 years ago, green bell peppers were selling for 4/$1.00. Take a guess what they are selling for today? Four for a $1.00. And people still ask why the price is so high. People want cheap food. Today's farmers are making less than they were 50 years ago. This is partly due to automation of everything and the law of supply/demand. The same bale of cotton produced in the U.S costs a lot less to produce in underdeveloped countries. It takes a lot to be a farmer. Few, if any vacation days, low pay, high stress, working in all weather conditions. Paid sick time?-Ha, where? I personally don't think that people nowadays appreciate how and where their food comes from. With transportation nowadays, you can get whatever vegetable or fruit you want whenever you want in the supermarkets. Personally, I like to can and freeze most of my produce because it tastes better. Sorry, got off on a tangent. Has anybody ever heard the old saying, "dumb farmer"? Quite the opposite is true. Farmers have to be highly intelligent in order to survive financially. Every day they are thinking, how can I save time or money on this job? Is there a different or better way of doing this. They find ways, invent items, and try to find their own niche to carve out and survive. I believe they really do love their work, because who would put themselves through everything that they have to put up with? Didn't mean to ramble Keith, but I tend to get long winded about things I feel strongly about. Jonathan.
--- In biofuel@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Those Illegal Farm Subsidies > > Published: April 28, 2004 > > http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/28/opinion/28WED1.html?th > > America's lavish handouts to its farmers harvest poverty throughout the developing world. And they are illegal as well. That's the conclusion of a World Trade Organization panel that heard Brazil's challenge to the cotton subsidies that belie this nation's commitment to free and fair trade. > > Cotton is far from the only crop that American farmers are able to dump on the international market at low prices thanks to federal subsidies. But it is one of the most outrageous cases. Brazil was wise in choosing it as the first target in the developing world's challenge of the roughly $1 billion a day in subsidies that rich nations dole out to their farmers. If the preliminary ruling stands, as expected, it may mean the beginning of the end for European and American practices that provide their farmers an unfair advantage. > > In addition to Brazil, an agricultural superpower, some of the world's poorest nations, including the West African republics of Mali, Benin and Burkina Faso, are vindicated by the W.T.O.'s decision. Cotton is West Africa's cash crop, the one economic activity in which the region has a competitive advantage. By underwriting much of the costs of America's 25,000 cotton farmers with checks that can total $3 billion a year, Washington erases that advantage. Aided by American experts who are critics of this warped system, Brazil convincingly argued that in the absence of subsidies, the United States would have produced and exported substantially less cotton than it did in recent years. Consequently, growers elsewhere would have enjoyed greater market share and higher prices. > > The glaring contradiction between American farm subsidies and the principles underlying the global trade system has long posed a moral and political problem for Washington. Now it is also a legal problem. Instead of digging in its heels and spending years appealing the panel's ruling, the Bush administration needs to seize upon it as a reason to negotiate the surrender of rich nations' trade-distorting farm subsidies. > > The administration has a mixed record on this issue. It offered proposals to start weaning corporate farmers off their subsidies two years ago ÷ admittedly after approving a farm bill that exacerbated the problem. Then it backed away in the face of strong opposition from Congress and the European Union. That retreat not only hurt the poor nations' farmers, but also American taxpayers, consumers and most business interests, including more competitive farmers. > > The W.T.O.'s talks on the further liberalization of trade faltered over the subsidy issue at Cancœn last year, but this week's ruling will vastly strengthen the position of Brazil and others advocating the dismantling of agricultural subsidies that distort trade. The sooner they prevail, the better. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
