|
Martinsville, Ohio | This is a really good queation, one we will revisit one way or another this winter and maybe a long time.
I think some of the answers are in Foster Gamble's movie Thrive. It's way out there but there is some really pertinent information in it that answers part of your question.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEV5AFFcZ-s
I have listed it here several times and wonder how many have watched it. It is long and indepth and bashes some things readers here won't like. If you shut it off and don't give a couple of hours to it, its message will never sink in.
A principal part of it is who holds the money and what happens when you take a loan. The bank only has about 10% of the money it loans out as safety. So a run on the banks like the Great Depression causes the bank to fail and the more that fail the bigger the problem. I think we all know that but we have not seen it full scale in modern times.
I don't know what would happen in an emergency or how many farms or banks it would take to cause your scenario. I don't want to find out either but it looks like we keep getting closer to it.
The big operations here are financially more stable than a lot of smaller farmers. They could take a big hit as easy or easier than I could but we are in a "lower risk" area here due to soil and weather and commodity compare to what you are describing.
The world is pretty well based around corn, soybean and wheat products and peanuts and cotton, too. The powers that be will find a way to keep that flowing. I don't know how or when but I think they will.
We are seeing this "new farm economy" change and adjust every year. What would happen in a calamity, no one knows but there is evidence from the past of what might happen.
I hope I didn't stray from your question too much but I feel no one really knows. We can discuss different scenarios like what happens if we produce another crop next year like this year's?
Ed
| |
|
Asking about tough farm economy times
