Fuel Costs Hitting Farmers Hard

[CShine]

Nationwide, the increased energy costs means it will take $800 million more to bring in this year's crop than it did in 2003, according to projections from the American Farm Bureau. The 2003 tally was $2.6 billion higher than the cost to harvest the 2002 crop, again because of higher energy prices, said Troy Bredenkamp, who monitors fuel and energy for the Washington, D.C.-based organization.

"And it shows no sign of letting up," Bredenkamp said. "It's not good."

A gallon of diesel for farm use costs about $1.39, up from about 90 cents a year ago. Farmers don't pay road tax for their diesel so prices are still below those at commercial pumps, where a gallon is close to $1.80 in West Texas. The price of fertilizer and the energy for irrigation are up, and by as much as 40 percent, said Jay Yates, an economist with the Texas Cooperative Extension in Lubbock. Ninety percent of the cost of nitrogen fertilizer is based on the price of natural gas.

The continuing energy increases this year come just as farmers were feeling optimistic. They were anticipating good returns because of stronger commodity prices across the board, Bredenkamp said. "Unfortunately, these are being eaten up as soon as they're being realized with higher energy prices," he said.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBMRCJVBVD.html

[shraby]

1. That doesn't count what

it costs in fuel to bring the stuff to market.

[saigon68]

2. There will be NO INFLATION--shut your eyes

Hey Boy "Bring us more Dom Perrignon", shouted the Halliburton CEO

[salin]

3. As Lay gave Evans (and other Govt folks) hints on how to change

the inflation figures... stop including goods that prices have increased due to escalating gas prices - since the escalation is ineviatable (hyped fear of enough disruption to hamper supply) - then it really shouldn't be classified as inflation. There for just take those items effected, such as all farm goods (food) out of the formula for inflation...

{sarcastic attempt to replicate the type of reasoning that often emerges from the bushjr's administration}

[Bandit]

10. Just wait til Kery becomes President and Inflation will suddenly hit

"Big Time" ~~ These people are so predictable.

[jmcgowanjm]

4. Where's the PPI?

"The Producer Price Index (PPI) for May 2004,
originally scheduled for release on June 11, has
been postponed until further notice.

The BLS expresses its apologies to those who experience
any problems as a result of this
delay. "

http://www.urbansurvival.com/week.htm

Farming is the only bidness where input is bought retail
and output is sold wholesale.

[SpiralHawk]

5. Clean, local food - Homeland Security of the real kind

If you are concerned about the food chain -- which you ought to be if you have been paying attention -- then you may well want to give some consideration to the idea of joining or starting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in the city, town, or rural area where you live.

There are about 2,000 CSAs in the US now, and we could use many thousands more....

Read all about it...
http://www.chiron-communications.com/farms-1.html

[John_H]

6. My bro in law is a farmer in Illinois--says he's got a bumper crop

but that gas prices will make it "about average" in terms of profit.

[jmcgowanjm]

8. Yes, Farming's like gambling

Only a few people make money at it.

The farmer who won the $1million lottery
was asked what he'd do w/ it.
The Farmer replied,
"Well, I guess I'll just keep on farming 'til
it runs out."

And it's easy to get addicted to it.

And if you can grow it, there's no market for it.

But if you're still game, here's another
source for "growing info".

http://www.attra.org/

And

http://www.attra.org/energy.html

[mbperrin]

7. You farmers just keep

voting Republican in the Panhandle! They'll help you every time!

or substitute other four letter words for help and you'll get the idea!

[SOS]

9. Farm subsidies have skyrocketed

from $9B in 1992 to $20B today. How many billions of corporate welfare does it take for Archer Daniels to turn a profit?

[JayS]

11. You would be surprised to learn how much we were paid to...

...not grow crops. Sometimes we would overplant and when this was brought to our attention (someone actually checks) we would have to plow the crop under, even if it was just days to harvest.

[jmcgowanjm]

13. Yep, and don't forget farm insurance/crop loans(forgiven)

[midnight armadillo]

12. Fertilizer, pesiticides, fuel

Harper's had an article a few months ago titled "The Oil We Eat." Modern chemical intensive agriculture is part and parcel of the oil and fossil fuel industry. Pesticides and fertilizers, necessary for massive scale centralized monocrop agriculture, come from oil and natural gas.

Farmers then gobble down diesel fuel to tend to and harvest their crops. Fuel efficiency is hardly a concern for combine manufacturers. Then the crops are loaded onto diesel trucks for delivery to markets thousands of miles away.

This is fantastically unsustainable and environmentally destructive. In WWII victory gardens grew 50% of all vegetables in the US which were consumed within a few miles of where they were grown. If we paid people enough so they didn't need to work 50-60 hours and they had some free time we could do this again...

One would hope that the end of oil would be taken seriously in agricultural circles, but that would be asking a bit much of ADM and BushCo, don't you think?

[JayS]

14. I'm not sure that the people know just how much oil means...

...to agriculture. How it applies to people's cars gets all the attention; the food just magically appears in the supermarkets. Without oil it would take more than 3% of the population to grow our food and it would not be cheap.

[liberalron]

15. You ain't seen nothin' yet

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040614-646348,00.html

[liberalron]

16. or this.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

Or better yet, go to Google, search and peruse:

Peak Oil
The Real Cost of Gasoline
Global Warming

And then tell me if there are any visionaries running around in our government(s).