Alberta Farmer - 5/3/2015 11:55

Here, and everywhere else in the ag community there is constant complaints about the prices we receive right now.  And trust me, I am no happier.  But if we all got our way, and magically prices were always above our COP, what method of balancing supply and demand would you propose?  We are all openly wishing for our fellow producers in South American and the Black sea region etc. to cut back.  But how does wishing for higher prices accomplish this goal?  Last I checked, the free market does an admirably job of motivating suppliers and end users through an intricate mechanism known as price.  It is usually painful for one side or the other.  So if we remove that, what tells me to cut back on grain production and increase my livestock, or vice versa?  

Blaming funds and traders for the long term trend has to be the most ridiculous concept I've ever heard.  Maybe we can blame them for scalping profit in between what the producer receives and what the end user pays( assuming that they aren't just making and losing money from each other, a net neutral)

So please tell me what method you would use to keep production matching usage without price?