Combines Fuel PricesIJ

What a mess we are in and who knows what road is ahead of us. I am a custom harvester and this fuel is making for a disaster on the fall harvest. It is to the point where we cant raise our rates any more as there is no room for the farmer on the other end. I cant just stay home and not cut as I still have obligations to the finance company but you sure get to the point of just throwin in the towell and calling it quits. All the people in the ag industry just keep trying to hang in there and hope that next year is better but how many years can it last. If something doesnt change and change quick our country is in for some serious disaster whithin its own people, somebody is going to snap and the problem is going to expand like wild fire.... Well I guess thats what I think and have to say so hopefully we all survive the year and hope for next year to be better

If the fuel prices stay at the present prices or continue higher, we will all be declaring bankruptcy. Wait till the price for crop inputs next spring. Are we going to pay $200 an acre for fertilizerIJ

in the area where i live ne nd we have a poor crop and a poor price.now with record expenses and increasing fuel prices what will be next.i dont think many can survive this situation.

A Game Plan - for some here it is an auction sale. Some are talking about breaking contracts. They paid $100_acre rent for standing water. We are paying record rent, fuel and fertilizer prices. I filled my 4 wheel drive yesterday for $440. A friend priced anhydrous fertilizer at $525 at the plantIJ We had an average to poor year. Our area cannot withstand any higher inputs at $1.45_bu. corn. I fall Roundup-ped my wheat stubble - some are burning it off. That's cheaper than tillage and No till into next spring. To avoid fertilizer prices, plant all beans or sow legumes and sell hay. It may change the way you farm but how long do you want to hang on. In reality, we should drive the price for our product. There is a farm and low_middle class crisis coming. People with $8-$10 dollar an hour jobs cannot afford to drive far to work or play. You see how our govt. is reacting to the current major crisis - wait till the one that hits the American economy and farm community becomes blantantly evident - Do you think the car manufacturers are selling at employee costs because they are boomingIJ Good luck everyone.

The early 80's were tough but there was still prospect of making a improvment in your situation, but in my area we have had the best crops we ever rasied and are just surviving , but the last year the fuel price,the fertilizer prices,rent,insurance,utilities and the list go's on. 2005 input prices and a 1950 return on investment. Read a article the other day ,a study done be the corn growers ass. it said most farm today have no way to retire, that all the farmers money is put back in the farm operation. Nothing to set aside for a rainy day or retirement, also it says that families are suffering from this situation too. What do I have to look forward to in 06IJIJIJIJIJIJ

We as a nation have refused to allow new petroleum refineries and increased crude oil exploration because of environmental concerns. How long before we say screw the spotted owl, bring back cheap gasolineIJ

To be blunt and honest with you,nothing. Unless by hook or crook prices explode for our commodities which is very unlikely to happen. One comforting fact is that gasoline futures backed off 26 cents Friday. Gas will back off to 2.75 and diesel to $2 bucks and we will be relieved and happy that fuel is down. We are being brainwashed to no end that adjusted for inflation fuel is cheaper than in the 80s' In this case, adjusted for inflation corn should be $8 and soybeans $15 a bu. I don't know about cotton, rice etc. Wake up Americans. I think what happened this last week is just a preview of comming attractions. I hate to be a doomsdayer but that is the way I feel.

It's a bad situation. The CBOT has become a joke in my mind. Supply and demand should drive our markets, not these so called funds who pool their money and drive the markets down. We probably haven't had this big of a drought in the cornbelt since 1988 and these people still keep saying we're going to have our third largest corn crop ever. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!! We should be looking at $3 corn and $8 beans. I've been thinking about getting out for the last 3 years but I still keep trying to survive by tapping into my equity. Well, this may be the year that breaks the camels back. Personally, I'll have a descent crop but with our current prices and the sky-rocketing input costs, I'll still lose my ass. Yea, the CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE (the Mid-Wests largest CASINO!!!!!!!! I wish everyone the best and prayers go out to all the people who have suffered from the devestation from hurricane Katrina. One more thing, Tom Russell has it right about the fuel prices.

This is a email I sent to my senator from Ohio! September 2, 2005 Mr Dewine ,the farmers of Ohio and the USA are on the fast track to a economic depression prices of grain and livestock are below production cost,the cost of just providing the day to day to live are sky rocketing, insurance is on a constantly increasing in cost. Now the safety net that was sold to the farmers ,the direct payment are going down and the Federal Crop Insurance that is push in the farmers face as a great thing is getting to the point they do not or will not pay ,just send your money. All I can compare this to is the bucket brigade. The house is on fire and here comes the bucket brigade,the old farmer pumping water with all his might with the others passing the water on to put the fire out ,fire out and the one 's after the farmer want all the rewards for putting the fire out but the farmer who provided the water gets little and with out him no water and the house burns down. As a stupid old dumb farmer all I want is my fair share. In closing either things change real soon or I am getting out. 25 years farming and I can't buy your dinner! london , OH

Kooch, Well that's it then. Nothing. let's just quit. Shoot, that's what America's all about, isn't itIJ All that talk about alternative fuels like soy diesel and ethanol, well that'll never pan out, anyway. The time to panic is here, so let's just give up. That's what all the generations before us did, rightIJ Kennedy said that we should make a goal of landing on the moon, everybody laughed and nobody went. Pearl Harbor got bombed so we sued for peace on the 8th of December. At Omaha Beach Gen Bradley threw up his hands and said "Oh my! Men are dying! let's go home now!" Or, Here's a thought...we can use this time of crisis to become a better, stronger nation. Just like when we went to the moon, defeated the Imperial Forces Of Japan, the Nazis and every despot or challenge that came along, and we always will, as long as we face the crisis and make a way. You may not control the weather or the CBOT, but you can be a man. You can control yourself! Nobody ever made a dime by panicking. And we did not become a great nation by blaming others and whining. This is our chance, our time to be an example to our children and their children. We inherited this nation from men, men who faced a lot tougher than this. Can you imagine facing them with your pathetic sad tale of woeIJ Now, stop that crying, empty that diaper and get back to work, or get out of the way. JOGE