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AgVisionTV: Steven Blank discusses the End of Agriculture. What do you think?

I wanted to see what people thought of Steven Blank's thoughts and opinions.

Thanks,

Kevin


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Permalink Reply by Joann on April 29, 2010 at 4:38am
I have not read any of Mr. Blanks' book, so I am gleaning personal opinions solely on his interview.

In my opinion, there were some serious omissions in his observations. He did not touch on the USA Farm Bill and the guaranteed support American farmers receive.. not to mention the Parity Clause farmers entrenched in the 1937(?) Farm Bill. The Canada Farm support system changed in 1998 from COP to a welfare system based on whole farm income.

He speaks of profit margins being squeezed with price fluctuations but neglects the relationship between farmers that capitalize their operations vs farmers with capital stagnation. Farmers with less/no debt have a far better survival rate. It is no small wonder the average age of Canadian farmers is well into the 60's.

The food versus ethanol point he extracts, in my opinion, is not totally relevant in his conclusions. He completely avoids mention of profit taking through derivatives in the financial sectors those 2 critical years when commodity prices spiked and sank. Wall Street greed had more to do with setting agriculture commodity prices those years than the CBT.

Is it ethical for financial institutions to manipulate agricultural commodity prices solely for corporate profit outside the agricultural arena? Mr. Blank avoids mention of political policies that affect Canadian farmers' ability to guarantee at least cost of production.
Permalink Reply by Joann on April 29, 2010 at 7:20am
Sorry, I should have added that I thought he had some other very astute observations about the evolution of agriculture of which I agreed with.

Joann said:
I have not read any of Mr. Blanks' book, so I am gleaning personal opinions solely on his interview.

In my opinion, there were some serious omissions in his observations. He did not touch on the USA Farm Bill and the guaranteed support American farmers receive.. not to mention the Parity Clause farmers entrenched in the 1937(?) Farm Bill. The Canada Farm support system changed in 1998 from COP to a welfare system based on whole farm income.

He speaks of profit margins being squeezed with price fluctuations but neglects the relationship between farmers that capitalize their operations vs farmers with capital stagnation. Farmers with less/no debt have a far better survival rate. It is no small wonder the average age of Canadian farmers is well into the 60's.

The food versus ethanol point he extracts, in my opinion, is not totally relevant in his conclusions. He completely avoids mention of profit taking through derivatives in the financial sectors those 2 critical years when commodity prices spiked and sank. Wall Street greed had more to do with setting agriculture commodity prices those years than the CBT.

Is it ethical for financial institutions to manipulate agricultural commodity prices solely for corporate profit outside the agricultural arena? Mr. Blank avoids mention of political policies that affect Canadian farmers' ability to guarantee at least cost of production.
Permalink Reply by John Schwartzentruber on May 8, 2010 at 2:54am
Joann, while he does not make direct mention of the points you raise, I would say he covers them in general by saying that our control over the return on our production is eclipsed by global influences.

U.S. farm policy, for example, is just one more part (albeit a large one) of the global structure within which we must try to produce and survive.

Mainstream or conventional agriculture, which simply produces bountiful supplies of bulk commodities at insufficient prices for a nameless, faceless buyer will eventually collapse under the weight of it own "efficiency" because of the factors which Mr. Blank outlines.

I am reminded of the story of farmer who tried get his cow to eat less hay. Every day he gave her less than the day before. Since she continued to live, he thought, "Yes, this is working"!

She became thinner with each passing week, but still she lived on a decreasing amount of hay each day.

Eventually, the cow was a mere skeleton, but the farmer was happy because she was down to only one handful of hay per day.

One morning he was most remorseful to find her dead in her stall. "Why did you have to die now"? he said. "Because today I would have had you down to no feed at all and I would have proven to the world that a cow can live on nothing!"

I wish I were less pessimistic. But in view of what agriculture has become in my lifetime, do I have any reason to be?
Permalink Reply by Bristow on May 8, 2010 at 10:18am
Smart man, knows his stuff. I have notice this trend in all developed countries. In Australia in the 80s it was get big or get out, 90s sell the farm its not worth it, 2000 your too old and over supply. O well its back to being peasant farmers again. Small may better, find your local market, sell at the farm gate to indivual consumer or form co ops, to compete with mult nationals. Cut out the middle man, let him find his product some where else, two or three years down the track, he will be back, because the consumer don't like the new ingredance in the product.

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