Lessons Not Learned and Trends Ignored
Dairy farms going out of business, processors losing customers, over production, higher producing cows are all things that have been repeated over and over again.
It happened in the 1960's,70's, 80's. Small processors closed and markets were lost. Retailers vertically integrated to processing their own milk. Large dairy co-op's swallowed smaller ones. Executives of processors flew around the country in corporate jets, dined in the finest restaurants, and stayed in the best hotels. They enjoy huge salaries and benefits that do not reflect the prices the dairy producers receive or their performance reviews. (If indeed they do exist)? Federal Market Orders are antiquated and in conflict with the market stability they claim to create.
Labor issues loom, immigration laws and regulations are thrown around like a ball on a Rugby field with no concern for the needs of food producers. Large retailers require their suppliers to meet more and more fad and fear driven standards that have no scientific proof. Traceability of products favors very large producers because of the logistics limitations when tracing thousands of small producers. State and Federal regulations often dictate insurmountable financial burden on smaller operators.
More and more farm level owners and operators are forced to have off farm and ranch jobs to subsidize their food producing entities. When markets drop the bankers are very cautious about renewing operating operating loans, the very time it is most needed. Their crystal balls rule in often a brutal manner.
Farmers and Ranchers are stubborn and often continue to try to makes ends meet far beyond the point of no return. They end up loosing their assets, going bankrupt, and the mental stresses are to often deadly. They are swallowed up at fire sale prices by other producers that are often financed by non farm investments that use their agriculture operations as tax shelters and tax deductions.
Agriculture organizations are using the popular buzz words and implementing practices and certifications that must be carefully reviewed in their anxiousness to gain face time and positive press for their leaders. Self serving opportunists have gained leadership positions in many farm organizations, and their hidden agenda's are not in the interest of the membership. When producers are depressed, and even desperate, the opportunity for the acceptance of the a Trojan Horse increases exponentially.
End of Rant
It happened in the 1960's,70's, 80's. Small processors closed and markets were lost. Retailers vertically integrated to processing their own milk. Large dairy co-op's swallowed smaller ones. Executives of processors flew around the country in corporate jets, dined in the finest restaurants, and stayed in the best hotels. They enjoy huge salaries and benefits that do not reflect the prices the dairy producers receive or their performance reviews. (If indeed they do exist)? Federal Market Orders are antiquated and in conflict with the market stability they claim to create.
Labor issues loom, immigration laws and regulations are thrown around like a ball on a Rugby field with no concern for the needs of food producers. Large retailers require their suppliers to meet more and more fad and fear driven standards that have no scientific proof. Traceability of products favors very large producers because of the logistics limitations when tracing thousands of small producers. State and Federal regulations often dictate insurmountable financial burden on smaller operators.
More and more farm level owners and operators are forced to have off farm and ranch jobs to subsidize their food producing entities. When markets drop the bankers are very cautious about renewing operating operating loans, the very time it is most needed. Their crystal balls rule in often a brutal manner.
Farmers and Ranchers are stubborn and often continue to try to makes ends meet far beyond the point of no return. They end up loosing their assets, going bankrupt, and the mental stresses are to often deadly. They are swallowed up at fire sale prices by other producers that are often financed by non farm investments that use their agriculture operations as tax shelters and tax deductions.
Agriculture organizations are using the popular buzz words and implementing practices and certifications that must be carefully reviewed in their anxiousness to gain face time and positive press for their leaders. Self serving opportunists have gained leadership positions in many farm organizations, and their hidden agenda's are not in the interest of the membership. When producers are depressed, and even desperate, the opportunity for the acceptance of the a Trojan Horse increases exponentially.
End of Rant
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