Combines farm operations

Its been almost a year since Combest and Stenholm and the rest of the House Ag committee got a relatively good bipartisan farm bill through the entire House. Now look at what is happening in the Senate. Under the leadership of Daschle and Harkin, there has been absolutely no progress getting anything approved. First the Senate wanted to change a bunch of names from farm payments to counter cyclical farm payments etc. Who cares what they call it as long as they call it something. Next they tried to take money from farm programs to start a welfare program for aliens. Now this one really irritates me. Aliens blew up that bldg in NY and our dear Senate wants to make them eligible for welfare. The House bill was and still is a good bill. The Senate should get off their pulpits and pass it. I have no idea what we are going to do if Senators pull the rug out from under us. Keep these guys in mind when election time rolls around this fall. Tom in MN

There are far more reaching problems that the administration and political crowd are dealing with in DC. The farm economy, let alone the individual farmer, is not taking any priority right now in DC; not with the state of terrorism in our nation and such a huge focus on global economics that are threatening the existance of every corporate monoploy. I am watching local governments and municipalities threaten insolvency, while our state of Tennessee is beyond debt control, and can not pass a budget. If it were a business instead of a government that can issue bonds and borrow from the fed reserve; they would already have had to declare bankrupcy and been liquidated YEARS ago. But the people focus on their own situation, and allow elected public servants to continue to operate in this fashion, without question. Even if you don't know what the weather is, you can always take a coat, but in real world planning for your livlehood, the protective cloak of our government has been devestated by moths.Tom S. in Tn.

When I started farming (a long time ago) my dad told me that I shouldn't rely on the Govt. to decide whether I can keep farming or not. On my operation, things have to cash flow without a payment. I will do what I always do this year, whether they pass a bill or not. Don't take this the wrong way, because I belly up to the federal trough to get my payments too. Profitability of my farm doesn't rely on them though. Oh, I grow dryland spring wheat in NorthEast Montana.

Good on you mate!!

Ed, many of us are in the same boat you in are when it comes to profitability but the govt still has control over crop mix. The present farm bill allows us to plant crops we feel are more beneficial to our individual farming operations. Previously we had to plant according to historical records at the county office. This aspect of the farm bill debate is the main problem I see. Crop mix may not be a problem in your area but many of us in the Corn Belt like to rotate crops to avoid weed problems and pests like corn rootworm. The previous farm bill required me to plant continuous corn because the previous owner of the place farmed that way. Continuous corn as you may be aware requires the use of insecticides that kill everything in the soil including beneficial earthworms. I have been able to discontinue or reduce pesticide use under the present farm bill. What do I plant if the Senate can't make up its mind on a new farm billIJ Can I plant crops that I feel are best for my farm or do I plant what some bureaucrat wants me to plantIJ Tom in MN

I see now that Kansas is not the only state being broke. I guess if you just spend other peoples money you don't have to worry about it. And when it's gone you just raise the taxes, especially the property tax. Even if you didn't make anything and didn't pay income tax you still get charged for your existence. How about canceling any farm bill and subsidies and the property tax as wellIJ The less government you have, the better off you are. Or why did communism go brokeIJ

Great idea! I am in favor of it. But as long as most others seem to think there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow I will collect as much as I can and as often as I can. Tom in MN

Of course you have to collect what you can to compete. Or there better be no subsidies at all. Otherwise they could have a bill for custom harvesters, too. Because the farmer gets money when federal crop comes in and zeros the fields. But the custom harvester goes broke.

Tom, dare I suggest plant the crops that the market requires comunicated to you by price signals. A novel approach I know but worth a try.

That isnt really a novel approach; it is exactly how we operate under the present farm bill. We look at what crop will put food on the table and take into consideration factors like extra cost for insecticides for continuous crops. Rotating crops works best for us. The previous farm bill required planting crops based on what the land was used for in the past. The next farm bill that is being argued in Congress could continue the present freedom to plant approach or go back to the govt telling us what to plant or any combination in between. I can go with the flow except at this late date we have already purchased seed as well as applied fertilizer and herbicides. We also contract a large portion of the crop, which would cause a financial penalty if we decided to change this late in the season. We could choose to stay out of the farm program but we would be ineligible for crop insurance and other govt programs. I would prefer to have the govt completely out of the picture but 60 years of govt programs have created a generation of farmers who believe govt involvement is something we can't live without. I am afraid the majority of farmers want the govt to continue meddling in our affairs. I hope this has clarified the situation. Tom in MN