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Coffee Shop
What is the best farm economy?
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<blockquote data-quote="Jogeephus" data-source="post: 1494143" data-attributes="member: 4362"><p>I think there is some confusion here because most farmers who grow food do not receive any subsidies and do work on the free market however most all farmers who grow commodity crops receive subsidies and price supports in some form. </p><p></p><p>What makes one crop a commodity and another a "specialty crop" seems to depend on the amount of government control. To me, it seems a crop is more prone to be considered a commodity if further processing is required which results in increased employment due to its further processing and manufacturing. Milk, like cotton, is considered a commodity but just try and sell milk in the free market and see what the government will do to you. But if you want to grow a hundred acres of okra the world is yours and the government won't say a word. Or try and sell some packs of hamburger from the calf you butchered at your barn.</p><p></p><p>I don't know the answer but it seems to me that with commodities the government is concerned about providing the larger employers with a cheap raw materials to work with and this was probably a good thing when our country had cotton mills that employed thousands of people who produced cloth and clothing for sale here and for export but now that we send the bulk of these commodities overseas to be processed and shipped back to us as a finished product it doesn't make as much sense. But like it or not, when you feed a commodity such as corn or meal to your cattle your bill is being subsidized. </p><p></p><p>I don't know the answer but its just something to think about.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jogeephus, post: 1494143, member: 4362"] I think there is some confusion here because most farmers who grow food do not receive any subsidies and do work on the free market however most all farmers who grow commodity crops receive subsidies and price supports in some form. What makes one crop a commodity and another a "specialty crop" seems to depend on the amount of government control. To me, it seems a crop is more prone to be considered a commodity if further processing is required which results in increased employment due to its further processing and manufacturing. Milk, like cotton, is considered a commodity but just try and sell milk in the free market and see what the government will do to you. But if you want to grow a hundred acres of okra the world is yours and the government won't say a word. Or try and sell some packs of hamburger from the calf you butchered at your barn. I don't know the answer but it seems to me that with commodities the government is concerned about providing the larger employers with a cheap raw materials to work with and this was probably a good thing when our country had cotton mills that employed thousands of people who produced cloth and clothing for sale here and for export but now that we send the bulk of these commodities overseas to be processed and shipped back to us as a finished product it doesn't make as much sense. But like it or not, when you feed a commodity such as corn or meal to your cattle your bill is being subsidized. I don't know the answer but its just something to think about. [/QUOTE]
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