Why are farmers taking corn in already?

[paintball_addiction]

I've got a cousin that works at a co-op. He said a lot of the farmers are cutting the corn now for silage and replanting in beans knowing full well that they won't make. But they will get a nice government backed insurance check when it doesn't make.

 

[24Carat]

On the news they said Indiana has lost 35% of its corn this year to the drought

Indiana as a whole? Down in the SW they might as well bush-hog these fields and till them under to amend the soil for next year. My Mom is profiting because of her contract with a major farming family out of Vincennes but the corn crop on our property and some massive fields they bought locally last year are 100% losses.

 

[hoosierdoc]

But they will get a nice government backed insurance check when it doesn't make.

AND.... there it is....

 

[cobber]

I've got a cousin that works at a co-op. He said a lot of the farmers are cutting the corn now for silage and replanting in beans knowing full well that they won't make. But they will get a nice government backed insurance check when it doesn't make.

Will they get two checks, or just one? Is it too late for me to put in my bean crop on my 1/4 acre?

 

[longbow]

secret fema wind breaks for the indiana dust bowl of 2012...........geesh, didn't you get the memo?

 

[longbow]

Yesterday, I stopped to look at a corn field on 231.

The cracks in the ground were like I have never seen in Indiana. Just this evening, the part of my garden that I didn't plant this year has the same massive cracks.

I have the same large cracks in my hay fields. My small pond is gone and 100% dry.

 

[jeremy]

You can find out how much subsidy money they're getting here.

So what. No difference than all the Tax Exemptions Manufacturers are given...

Cant wait for gas prices to go up because of that damn ethanol, not too mention food (i was buying NY strip for 6 bucks a lb. last year at this time, it's now close to 10 bucks.) and everything else

You really have no clue how much is made from Corn do you...
Get ready to be raped next year on almost everything, paints, plastics, inks, oils, fuels, and tires are just a few examples of stuff with corn in it...

I've got a cousin that works at a co-op. He said a lot of the farmers are cutting the corn now for silage and replanting in beans knowing full well that they won't make. But they will get a nice government backed insurance check when it doesn't make.

Really?!
I would be interested in knowing from your Cousin how this is done?!

 

[Jimmy0315]

I seen a field yesterday that was wheat and they had replanted with beans. I guess it could work if the rain comes late

 

[CountryBoy19]

You can find out how much subsidy money they're getting here.

Indiana Farm Subsidy Search || EWG Farm Subsidy Database

$427,000 in the period from 95-2011, less than $27,000/yr

Not that much compared to some on the list. What really intrigues me is that the payments have increased substantially in the last 10 years or so. I don't know of any major subsidies that could account for that unless they are figuring in the ethanol subsidies that ultimately get passed down to the farmers in the way of higher grain prices??

 

[hornadylnl]

So what. No difference than all the Tax Exemptions Manufacturers are given...

The difference between a tax break and a subsidy is that you pay less taxes for a tax break. With a subsidy, the government is actually giving money away. If farmers were charged zero taxes, I wouldn't complain.

I'd like to see the subsidies go away and let the free market decide what grain prices should be.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I'd like to see the subsidies go away and let the free market decide what grain prices should be.

And if we have a horrible year (like this year may be) and 50% of the farmers go under and can't afford to plant crops next spring because they lost it all this year that would be a good outcome?

I understand people's frustrations with subsidies to farmers. The programs aren't managed very well and they are so complicated and convoluted that it doesn't make any sense to most people. Often times the subsidies aren't going where they are needed and somebody is getting more than they need. I understand it, and I hate it just as much as most other people (even though it benefits my dad) but there is definitely a need for some type of subsidy just to "insure" a stable agricultural economy IMHO.

Get rid of them? No
Logically "revamp them"? Yes
Cut/trim them back? Sure, I think all "entitlement programs" should be cut to some degree, some more than others. I would be lying if I said otherwise just because this particular topic is in referrence to farm subsidies.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I admit to being ignorant of farming in general, but isn't the above scenario what crop insurance is for?

Farming is a business. It is profitable when done well. When you have subsidies that allow inefficient or bad farmers to keep doing it, you hurt the good ones. Like any business, the good companies will take over market share when the bad ones fail.

 

[hoosierdoc]

$427,000 in the period from 95-2011, less than $27,000/yr

that is over half of the average income for Americans. That is huge actually

 

[indyjoe]

I'd like to see the subsidies go away and let the free market decide what grain prices should be.

I agree 100%. Then possibly, we would find that sugar was as cheap as High Fructose Corn Crap and that Corn Based Ethanol is moronically stupid.

We rarely grow corn today. We grow engineered starch.

 

[hornadylnl]

And if we have a horrible year (like this year may be) and 50% of the farmers go under and can't afford to plant crops next spring because they lost it all this year that would be a good outcome?

I understand people's frustrations with subsidies to farmers. The programs aren't managed very well and they are so complicated and convoluted that it doesn't make any sense to most people. Often times the subsidies aren't going where they are needed and somebody is getting more than they need. I understand it, and I hate it just as much as most other people (even though it benefits my dad) but there is definitely a need for some type of subsidy just to "insure" a stable agricultural economy IMHO.

Get rid of them? No
Logically "revamp them"? Yes
Cut/trim them back? Sure, I think all "entitlement programs" should be cut to some degree, some more than others. I would be lying if I said otherwise just because this particular topic is in referrence to farm subsidies.

If there's a bad year for crops, market prices will go up and the farmers get a higher price per bushel for fewer bushels. Farmers have a pretty unique business model in that weather plays a huge part and they have no control over it. But what about other industries negatively affected by weather? Should they get subsidies this year? Fireworks sales were down due to weather but I don't think we should be bailing out that industry either.

 

[jeremy]

The difference between a tax break and a subsidy is that you pay less taxes for a tax break. With a subsidy, the government is actually giving money away. If farmers were charged zero taxes, I wouldn't complain.

I'd like to see the subsidies go away and let the free market decide what grain prices should be.

I would be in favor of Paying no Property Tax instead of the Subsidies, It would actually put more money in my pocket...

And if we have a horrible year (like this year may be) and 50% of the farmers go under and can't afford to plant crops next spring because they lost it all this year that would be a good outcome?

I understand people's frustrations with subsidies to farmers. The programs aren't managed very well and they are so complicated and convoluted that it doesn't make any sense to most people. Often times the subsidies aren't going where they are needed and somebody is getting more than they need. I understand it, and I hate it just as much as most other people (even though it benefits my dad) but there is definitely a need for some type of subsidy just to "insure" a stable agricultural economy IMHO.

Get rid of them? No
Logically "revamp them"? Yes
Cut/trim them back? Sure, I think all "entitlement programs" should be cut to some degree, some more than others. I would be lying if I said otherwise just because this particular topic is in referrence to farm subsidies.

Two words...
Crop Insurance...

I admit to being ignorant of farming in general, but isn't the above scenario what crop insurance is for?

Farming is a business. It is profitable when done well. When you have subsidies that allow inefficient or bad farmers to keep doing it, you hurt the good ones. Like any business, the good companies will take over market share when the bad ones fail.

You would think that. But, I doubt if in reality it would work like that, without some very serious modifications to the entire economy...

that is over half of the average income for Americans. That is huge actually

$27,000 is actually less than Our Property Taxes...

I agree 100%. Then possibly, we would find that sugar was as cheap as High Fructose Corn Crap and that Corn Based Ethanol is moronically stupid.

We rarely grow corn today. We grow engineered starch.

Very little of the Corn grown in the World, especially the US is used for Food Production anyway.

 

[jeremy]

If there's a bad year for crops, market prices will go up and the farmers get a higher price per bushel for fewer bushels. Farmers have a pretty unique business model in that weather plays a huge part and they have no control over it. But what about other industries negatively affected by weather? Should they get subsidies this year? Fireworks sales were down due to weather but I don't think we should be bailing out that industry either.

The Subsidies in Farming are not in place to bail out the Farmer year to year, they are there to keep the prices at a level that is desired to keep production costs down of other materials...

Corn prices effect the prices of many other commodities such as; Paints, Plastics, Tires, Fuels, etc, etc... Those are just things listed with a direct link to corn in their production, not secondary or tertiary line effects due to the increased prices of components or services effected by the increased costs of items used...

 

[indyjoe]

Very little of the Corn grown in the World, especially the US is used for Food Production anyway.

A majority is used for food production.

According to 2005 numbers:
58% is fed to livestock for food production. ( Despite giving them ulcers and helping foster diseases that don't exist in grass fed livestock.)

25% Exported

17% Food, seed or industrial (ethanol or HFCS).

If you don't consider livestock to be producing food, then you are correct. I personally consider it food, as corn is the most prevalent thing in the average American's diet.

 

[Myles]

Very little of the Corn grown in the World, especially the US is used for Food Production anyway.

That's not true. Besides the corn that is processed for human consumption, a large percetage is used to feed livestock which we eat and milk.

 

[Myles]

Crop insurance does not cover all. You must apply for it. It also can dictate when you can plant and how. It does not cover all costs. I know allot of farmers in my business and very few of them are rich. Most take out short-term loans each year.