Farm
Talk
American farmers continue to
look at the world market as a
solution to their production
problems. The fact is, American
farmers are just too productive for
their own good. They can grow
more food than we can eat. This
means depressed farm prices for
many commodities. Right now it
also means economic disaster for a
lot of farmers.
Currently, about one in five
American acres is producing for
the world market, but that’s still
not enough. Surpluses continue to
build as farmers look to the
TUB
inE
/■\uc
V^l^lE
A sui
has
the ck
models
and pre:
The Orai
ot simple
The Orar
broilers
For a hands-on
poultry equipment
Brought to you by the folks who gave you poultry house
automation in the first place, fifty years ag0....
6i* Putdiim r
B SYCAMORE IND. PARK
255 PLANE TREE DRIVE
HEY EQUIPMENT Lancaster. pa i7«03
COMPANY, INC. (717)393 9*)?
DutyMci if QwHity far Pwtoy,
Jerry Webb
government and to the private
sector to improve the market.
Over the past few years the U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture has made
some pretty strong statements to
some' of our European friends
about the way they dump com
modities on the world market with
the government picking up the tab.
The European community, 10
nations with similar agricultural
policies that have banded together,
is making it rough on American
farmers in the world because our
farmers are in trouble. Their
farmers are in trouble also. The
„ N ' * * ~ ,
1 - +£'?****
' »> 4. " \
l)v thliu, *1 t - v In 1
urunc 1 1 pom, thai .vs '-n
surpluses and dumps them on the
world market.
The general policy of the
European community is to
maintain high farm prices. This
has meant large surpluses that are
brought up by the government,
including dairy products, sugar,
wheat, barley, beef, veal, poultry,
even wine. Their solution to these
surpluses has been to dispose of
them in the world market,
providing whatever subsidy is
necessary to create a competitive
advantage.
That’s what outgoing Secretary
Block has been talking about
recently and that’s what he wants
changed. He thinks it’s unfair for
the European community to
subsidize its own agriculture in the
world market. He’s saying that
unless the Europeans back away
from that policy to some degree,
the American government will do
the same thing.
You can be sure there’ll be a lot
of discussion and debate before the
American government heavily
subsidizes our farmers in the world
market. While farmers might
consider it appropriate in view of
Dutchman
Call Your
Big Dutchman Distributor
Route 30 West
at the
Centerville Exit.
■I?"*
Lancaster Farming Saturday, February 1,1986-Dl3
u , competition, it would be
expensive and could create more
problems that it solves. After all,
the Europeans really haven’t
solved their farm problems
they've just put the burden on
someone else
Department of Agriculture data
suggest that such internal policies
within the economic community
have generated prices well above
the world market-in many cases,
double or even triple the world
price. These high price supports
combined with no production
controls have caused substantial
"surpluses. Examples: sugar
production, 150 percent above
domestic needs; meat production,
at 105 percent of domestic use; and
significant surpluses of dairy
products.
While this has meant economic
good times for European farmer,
the cost to the government has
been staggering. Current figures
indicate that European community
export subsidies amount to about
$3 out of every $lO in agricultural
product sales to noneconomic
community markets.
In other words, the government
is picking up the difference bet-
ween what it pays tanners and
what is can sell a commodity for in
the world market. On the average,
this has amounted to about a third
of the value of the product.
One key to business success is to
buy low and sell high. It seems the
European community has been
able to reverse that philosphy-buy
high from its own farmer, sell low
in the world market, and let the
taxpayers pick up the difference.
It’s meant a certain amount of
prosperity in agriculture and a
bountiful food supply, but at
tremendous cost.
These questions must be asked
as far as our own agriculture is
concerned: Is the government
truly willing to subsidize American
agriculture in the world market? If
so, at what level? For what
commodities? And at what rate of
production?
Given suitably high farm prices,
American farmers could increase
current production by a tremen
dous amount. Eight-dollar
soybeans, four-dollar corn would
make current yields look small
compared to future production.
Would taxpayers be willing to
foot that kind of bill just to see
prosperity in agriculture and to
assure a bountiful food supply? 1
don’t think so. It will take much
harder times in rural America and
much higher prices in the super
markets before taxpayers will
support a plan similar to what is in
place in Europe right now.
So although agriculture
department officials talk about
subsidizing American farm goods
in the world market, I don’t think
farmers should count on it hap
pening in the near future A more
obvious and less expensive ap
proach is to control production. If
farmers can somehow manage to
cut back production in an
organized way, they can get their
price increases without tremen
dous governmental involvement.
Large Quantities of Sawdust
Available
10 cents per cubic foot
loaded on your truck
KONDOR LUMBER CO.
York, PA
717-755-6841