Demise of the Family Farm
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- Rancher
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
It’s interesting how the cost to run cattle vary across the country. I can definitely see how land lease prices would affect the bottom line. Next in line would be the length of grazing season and stocking rates. I haven’t leased any land in several years, it’s just to hard to find anything decent in my area. I doubt I’d mess with the cattle for $100 a head.
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
I really tried to keep a family farm going and realized it was a lost cause. I am glad i realized it when I was younger. I could take a bunch of french curves and triangles and a mechanical drawing pencil and make over 50K back when I was younger and glad I did. That pension and SS check makes it possible for me to subsidize the beef industry. Where would the packers be if all of us top waters quit raising beef cows. They would be up the creek without a paddle. The big ranches would hold their feet to the fire.
- HDRider
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
No, they would be right where they have positioned themselves to be, selling foreign beef into the US. The cherry on top is they can label it US beef. To add insult to injury, by law, we can't find a viable processor to take our beef directly for sale to retail customers.hurleyjd wrote: ↑Wed Dec 04, 2019 7:38 amI really tried to keep a family farm going and realized it was a lost cause. I am glad i realized it when I was younger. I could take a bunch of french curves and triangles and a mechanical drawing pencil and make over 50K back when I was younger and glad I did. That pension and SS check makes it possible for me to subsidize the beef industry. Where would the packers be if all of us top waters quit raising beef cows. They would be up the creek without a paddle. The big ranches would hold their feet to the fire.
The processors played chess while we took a nap.
bball wrote: "The juice wasn't worth the squeeze."
Dun said, "You gotta be flexible. Do whatever you have to do for the best results within your limitations."
Dun said, "You gotta be flexible. Do whatever you have to do for the best results within your limitations."
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
So our future in USA is to export tasteless pork and chicken, but import grass fed beef?
Stocker Steve
- shaz
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
sure looks like it
"The Pope? How many divisions does he have?" Joseph Stalin
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
Our cost structure has priced us out of the beef marketStocker Steve wrote: ↑Wed Dec 04, 2019 8:02 amSo our future in USA is to export tasteless pork and chicken, but import grass fed beef?
Other than niche market, I think we are marching to our demise.
bball wrote: "The juice wasn't worth the squeeze."
Dun said, "You gotta be flexible. Do whatever you have to do for the best results within your limitations."
Dun said, "You gotta be flexible. Do whatever you have to do for the best results within your limitations."
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
I actual have part of the family farm that my Grandfather bought on Nov. 8 1885. My Dad was born there in 1910 with 13 kids by Grandfather's second and 4 kids from his first wife with all of them at home at one time. My father bought out two brothers that sold him the farm with the stipulation that we would have to keep Grand Mother for the rest of her life. At Grand father's death the farm was divided by Grandmother and the kids with each getting 1/2. The two brothers were minors and the deed to her part of the farm went to them with the stipulation they would have to keep her for the rest of her life. So my Dad got the farm and we kept Grandmother for 14 years. The farm has 75 acres in it now. And at one time was over 200. The farm was bought from a man named I.M. Thorn from New York. Mr. Thorn was given a land grant for thousands of acres for financing the Texas Revolution before Texas become a state. So it has been in the family for 134 years.
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
Dammm rain forest.HDRider wrote: ↑Wed Dec 04, 2019 10:35 amOur cost structure has priced us out of the beef marketStocker Steve wrote: ↑Wed Dec 04, 2019 8:02 amSo our future in USA is to export tasteless pork and chicken, but import grass fed beef?
Other than niche market, I think we are marching to our demise.
Stocker Steve
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
I wonder what the actual beef capacity of Brazil is? Seems like if they and India could produce enough we would have been out of business a long time ago
"The Pope? How many divisions does he have?" Joseph Stalin
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
We did not get in this situation overnight. It took a little while to line up all the ducks.
They shipped 1.64 million tonnes of beef last year. 1.35 m tonnes in 2013. Beef exports for 2000 were equal to 650,000 metric tons, an increase of 18 percent from the 1999 export of 550,000 metric tons.
Between 1970 and 1991, Brazil's beef-cattle herd grew at a 3.1 percent average yearly rate, from 78.5 million to 152.1 million head.
Production costs in Brazil are estimated to be 60 percent lower than in Australia and 50 percent lower than in the United States
bball wrote: "The juice wasn't worth the squeeze."
Dun said, "You gotta be flexible. Do whatever you have to do for the best results within your limitations."
Dun said, "You gotta be flexible. Do whatever you have to do for the best results within your limitations."
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Re: Demise of the Family Farm
[quote=HDRider Production costs in Brazil are estimated to be 60 percent lower than in Australia and 50 percent lower than in the United States
[/quote]
I found the 2004 World Bank article you seem to have quoted. They showed very low Brazilian feed costs, and cow calf returns that were 38 to 51% of revenue. I also would expand rapidly in that situation.
A hundred fifty years ago there was alot of cheap land in the western US and Canada. Then much of it was converted to growing beef. Did we go wrong somewhere?
[/quote]
I found the 2004 World Bank article you seem to have quoted. They showed very low Brazilian feed costs, and cow calf returns that were 38 to 51% of revenue. I also would expand rapidly in that situation.
A hundred fifty years ago there was alot of cheap land in the western US and Canada. Then much of it was converted to growing beef. Did we go wrong somewhere?
Stocker Steve