Columbia Basin, Ephrata, WA | Deere6 - 9/13/2020 17:16
They dont have to own it, everyone has their price. Nutrien pairs up with Bunge, talk about controlling supply, of inputs and the output. All of a sudden the individual farmers seed and fertilizer goes up by multiples. Nutrien hires a group of farmers to manage everything. Farmers are much more expendable than we think. The best ground would get used for the best purpose. Tons of inefficiencys in our current sytem, not sure we want it to change though.
Edit to add: Walmart like many big businesses undercuts the competition until they drive them out. Then the profits can take off.
If they don’t own the land, do they actually control anything? Sure they can control it by paying top-rate rents...how has that worked for everyone else that’s tried it?
So then they hire farmers to manage it all at the ground level. Those guys need to be paid even when the crop is a bust or prices fall.
No now we’ve guaranteed high rents and steady wages...run by me again how this is bad for rural America? And why corporations would pay high rents and guaranteed wages when they could just keep going like they are now, doing the high return part and letting farmers stick their neck out for the land and labor?
Farmers are great at working toward break even. All profits are passed on to landowners and suppliers the way things are running. How politically popular would it be if the farm bill gave billions to giant corporations? Right now it goes to farmers, which lots of people tolerate, and any scorn about the payments is directed to farmers, not corporations. Why would the corporations give up that PR buffer?
Corporations would be fools to let your scenario play out. They’ve got a pretty sweet deal going with farmers available to do the work, own low return land, and launder the government payments so the corps are squeaky clean on the EWG website.
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Highest farm profits since 2001 vs. OMG the farmers have it so bad?
