C2B—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, May 31,1980
Crop farmers face an problems they know lie
interesting dilemma this ahead. There’s only so much
year. It centers around a belt tightening a farmer can
continuing cost-price do and some of them have
squeeze. run out of notches.
One economist I was Weakening gram markets,
reading recently was triggered by reductions m
comparing the 1900 situation pork and poultry production
to that of the post-World War and an uncertain world
I era, when a cost-pnce situation could mean even
squeeze and a collapsing lower crop prices this fall,
world market turned into an And that could spell disaster,
economic disaster and Farming is a strange
triggered the start of the business, unlike most others
great Depression.
It may not be that bad, but
some farmers are definitely
worried. Prices for
everything they need to grow
crops have increased since
last year. Fertilizer and fuel
prices have shot up
dramatically. Machinery
prices continue their upward
spiral. Even land rents are
higher than last year, and
prospects for corn and
soybeans next fall don’t look
that encouraging.
It probably means the
good managers who aren’t
borrowing a lot of high
pneed money will still make
a little profit. But those with
expensive rented ground and
lots of borrowed money start
out m trouble.
There seems to be a kind of
cautious optimism Caution,
because of the obvious
economic facts of crop
production, and optimism
because they are farmers
and it’s spring. They’re
always optimistic during
those first warm days when
the tractors start rolling and
they’re plunged into the
midst of what they do best.
That optimism is tem
pered this spring by
Plans are made in the winter
that are virtually irrever
sible and unstoppable. Once
a decision is made to till
certain acres and plant
certain < i ips the rc«,t just
follows in sequence fer
tilizer, fuel, pesticides, seed
must be purchased.
Equipment replaced and
repaired.
When the ground warms
up farmers go to the field
with the hopes and plans of a
long winter in their hip
pocket and that look of
eternal optimism on their
faces. Then they watch as
the bugs and the drought and
the diseases and all the other
plagues take their tom.
Aner all that, if there’s
anything left to harvest, they
return to the field in a great
flurry of activity designed to
reap the crops that feed a
hungry world.
Six months or more after
those plans were set, they
finally reach the reality of so
many bushels m the bin and
a market that will pay them
so much a bushel
Sure, some can hold on and
wait for better prices, but
some need the money and
must sell at whatever the
price.
Those who hold on often
find the price the next spring
even less that it was at
harvesttime. And the cost of
storage must then be added
to those other costs that have
gone into the crop.
It’s not an easy way to
make money Maybe that’s
why no more than four
percent of the population has
the kind of optimism and
risk-taking ability to hang in
there.
It looks as though 1980 will
be a particularly important
year for many farmers. The
stakes are so high and the
opportunity for loss so great
that many will be unable
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to make the cut Even those farmers have returned to the
who are well financed and fields, planting virtually
are good managers will find every acre that’s available
this a difficult year. with that same determined
Any kind of natural, optimism that keeps far
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