USDA

[HDRider]

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters following an appearance at the World Dairy Expo in Madison that it’s getting harder for farmers to get by on milking smaller herds.

“In America, the big get bigger and the small go out,” Perdue said.

[TennesseeTuxedo]

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters following an appearance at the World Dairy Expo in Madison that it’s getting harder for farmers to get by on milking smaller herds.

“In America, the big get bigger and the small go out,” Perdue said.

Or find their niche market and serve it well.

[sim.-ang.king]

If speaking about the ag sector, he should of said, "In America, the big get bigger, if the government is there to prop them up."

[Ebenezer]

USDA has become infested with hiring goals and promotion based on look, gender or race. It is not called quotas, it is called goals. With quotas, such as the Forest Service, they cannot fill a job until the right type, look or color comes along. In USDA, it is a search for the best fit but not fully qualified and I can tell you horror stories of high level folks who could not write a complete sentence, manage themselves or balance a fund. It is a downward spiral for USDA.

[Son of Butch]

at the World Dairy Expo... it’s getting harder for farmers to get by milking smaller herds.
“In America, the big get bigger and the small go out,” Perdue said.

He's only acknowledging facts. The small can't make a living producing for commodity markets.
Change is inevitable, as we get deeper into the 21st century it's clear what was medium/large
40 yrs ago is small today, with one foot in the grave and the other shoe already off.

I remember joking in the '80s... it's child abuse to encourage a kid to take over a family farm.

[HDRider]

It is a fact easily seen with row crops here.

This is what you see in the fields now


This is what Dad used

[Ky hills]

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters following an appearance at the World Dairy Expo in Madison that it’s getting harder for farmers to get by on milking smaller herds.

“In America, the big get bigger and the small go out,” Perdue said.

I really hate to hear that mentality. Bigger isn’t better, unless they are counting on things to get to big to fail and we know how that worked out.

[Stocker Steve]

It is a fact easily seen with row crops here.

This is what you see in the fields now


This is what Dad used

Actually, you need a tracked tractor to be current.

[Stocker Steve]

at the World Dairy Expo... it’s getting harder for farmers to get by milking smaller herds.
“In America, the big get bigger and the small go out,” Perdue said.

He's only acknowledging facts. The small can't make a living producing for commodity markets.

American style capitalism can be ugly.

Some "small" conventional diaries are getting by here, because they have no debt. Some small organic dairies are doing well here, because they sell a premium product. Question is - - what happens to these operations when the owner needs to retire ?

[HDRider]

It is a fact easily seen with row crops here.

This is what you see in the fields now


This is what Dad used

Actually, you need a tracked tractor to be current.

About half the big ones you see are tracked, maybe more than half. That was just the first giant Deere I saw on their website.

[farmerjan]

I guess that means that me and my old Farmall H are doomed.....

[Stocker Steve]

I guess that means that me and my old Farmall H are doomed.....

Trade up to a Super H ?

[farmerjan]

Actually, I think my son said it is a Super H . It still is the best thing in the small irregular shaped hayfields we make hay in. It can roll to start if needed and doesn't take a very big hill.... that old steel seat can get hard after awhile.

[Stocker Steve]

Just bought a Super M670 for $2,200. Good low rpm power for haying.

[HDRider]

“In America, the big get bigger and the small go out,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said this week during a trip to Wisconsin. If this message sounds eerily familiar, that’s because it is. In the 1970’s, President Nixon’s Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz infamously told farmers to “get big or get out."

As secretary, Butz prioritized increasing production and decreasing commodity prices over all else — including farmers’ livelihoods, the prosperity of rural communities, the health of consumers and environmental sustainability. He eliminated supply management policies that had previously stabilized food prices, encouraged farmers to “plant fence row to fence row” and relied on export markets to get rid of the inevitable surplus.

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/464 ... griculture?