Who is REALLY paying for AG Subsidies???......... THE RICH

FonterraFarmer said:

Imagine if we could not import Landrovers into NZ or the UK could not export Landrovers out of the UK?

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I imagine they're hard enough to shift to the antipodes already, what
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one for a farm hack [emoji38]

Kiwi Pete said:

I imagine they're hard enough to shift to the antipodes already, what
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one for a farm hack [emoji38]

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Very rare to see a Landrover out on farms over here, only ever see them in the city, where they really need perminant for wheel drive!

FonterraFarmer said:

Very rare to see a Landrover out on farms over here, only ever see them in the city, where they really need perminant for wheel drive!

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I saw one the other day for the first time in ages, near Dunedin. Out in the very fashionable subdivisions by east taieri. Was even towing a float

Bossfarmer said:

?? ive seen 400 acre fields in oz destroyed with frost, ive never had a total crop loss situation here I think you are talking nonsense now

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Where and when?

Old McDonald said:

Where and when?

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To be fair, we've had big areas knocked out with frost this year. A tiny % of the cropping area as a whole of course, but for the farmers affected it's a very, very significant acreage. Some lost their entire wheat crop. We also had very bad hail in a couple of regions too, which caused significant damage. All we're insured though so, nothing more than paperwork and a headache to solve.

Who underwrites the insurance?

Brisel said:

Who underwrites the insurance?

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Good question, pass.

CornishTone said:

To be fair, we've had big areas knocked out with frost this year

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I know it happens, but it is not a frequent event is it? I always thought WA carried the biggest risk. Never heard of it happening in NSW when I was there.

Kiwi Pete said:

I saw one the other day for the first time in ages, near Dunedin. Out in the very fashionable subdivisions by east taieri. Was even towing a float

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More money than sense, I mean float, no boat!!!

Old McDonald said:

I know it happens, but it is not a frequent event is it? I always thought WA carried the biggest risk. Never heard of it happening in NSW when I was there.

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I believe it happens most years to some extent. Some years are worse than others, same with hail. Luck of the draw!

In the Barossa they have "Frost Fans" to protect the grape vines. So it's a well known problem in this area.

FonterraFarmer said:

More money than sense, I mean float, no boat!!!

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I don't know how you can be so mean about Land Rovers!

Couple of old fellas round here still use them on farm. One farmer I know has 28 locked up in sheds, from Series 1 to fairly modern Range Rovers. He's got an obsession/addiction though!

CornishTone said:

I don't know how you can be so mean about Land Rovers!

Couple of old fellas round here still use them on farm. One farmer I know has 28 locked up in sheds, from Series 1 to fairly modern Range Rovers. He's got an obsession/addiction though!

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I have no idea what you mean?People here have mocked BMC/BL/Landrover products for as long as I can remember!!!

Look folks, I know it was me who posted a picture of a Landy on Thursday, but you'll need to get back on topic. How are we going to figure out who actually gives us our pocket money, if we go off topic! Concentrate on the serious issues!

davieh3350 said:

Look folks, I know it was me who posted a picture of a Landy on Thursday, but you'll need to get back on topic. How are we going to figure out who actually gives us our pocket money, if we go off topic! Concentrate on the serious issues!

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your pocket money looks like it will be cut short before long,
and it might be time to work towards that, rather than hoping it will carry on,
if you cannot manage without it, then not much hope when it does stop

Pennine Ploughing said:

your pocket money looks like it will be cut short before long,
and it might be time to work towards that, rather than hoping it will carry on,
if you cannot manage without it, then not much hope when it does stop

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Fine by me, though I don't want others to suffer, I just stuck my nose back in to see what was happening. I'm preferring the other thread

FarmyStu said:

So long as they're making the money I don't have a problem with this. But I don't want bad farmers making a profit on good land simply because of the subsidy cheque they get!! They should fail. Nobody is owed a living.

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Are you sure, job security has help keep many a poor worker in work.
It's not just farming, I talk to lots of friends where poor people keep good paying jobs, and often get promoted just to get them out of the way. And on far better wages than the average farmer.

Dave645 said:

Are you sure, job security has help keep many a poor worker in work.
It's not just farming, I talk to lots of friends where poor people keep good paying jobs, and often get promoted just to get them out of the way. And on far better wages than the average farmer.

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Keeping a poor worker employed is to the determent of the company/organisation employing them. Keeping an unviable business afloat, one that is often not employing anyone or doing anything other than keep a farmer in the lifestyle he had become accustomed to via taxpayers money is a whole different thing.

What are the wages of the average farmer? Especially once all the tax benefits etc are taken in to account?

CornishTone said:

I believe it happens most years to some extent. Some years are worse than others, same with hail. Luck of the draw!

In the Barossa they have "Frost Fans" to protect the grape vines. So it's a well known problem in this area.

View attachment 470138

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It is a phenomenon that has never directly affected me, but interested me all the same. For those not familiar with what happens here is a link to a WA Ag Dept article https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/frost/frost-diagnosing-problem and last Spring there was a lot of their crop affected.

A lot of grape growing areas around the world have to take frost protection measures and that again is a Sringtime problem.

Old McDonald said:

It is a phenomenon that has never directly affected me, but interested me all the same. For those not familiar with what happens here is a link to a WA Ag Dept article https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/frost/frost-diagnosing-problem and last Spring there was a lot of their crop affected.

A lot of grape growing areas around the world have to take frost protection measures and that again is a Sringtime problem.

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Farmer in Canada I worked for paid the crop sprayers to fly over his beans a few times one night to stir up the air to stop the frost.

http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/12/global-food-challenge-explained-18-graphics

Lots of the cheap food you all want to eat, that we uk farmers don't supply, is also keeping farmers in other countries in poverty, so when you say we should just stop our farmers farming and just rely on imports what your saying is your happy to keep poor farmers poor in what ever country they are in as long as food is cheap, farming is not unbreakable the poor farmers have to sell because if they don't, they make no money. What you should be saying farmers should get a fair price for there work what ever country they live in that includes the uk, people calling for the end of uk subs should be calling for farmers to get a fair price that includes the poor farmers in other countries.
Taking away one without providing the other is just going to end in disaster which I doubt uk farming will recover.

All predictions for the time running up to the year 2050 are increasing world populations, that will do only one thing to food prices, if you intend to not starve half the world, by even 2030 we are looking at 8 billion people in the world. It will soon be the resposability of us in the first world to provide food for the third world. Unless you are happy to see them starve. Farm gate price will have to have little to do with production cost at that point or they just will not be able to afford to eat.

http://www.foodsecurity.ac.uk/assets/pdfs/gfs-and-uk-food-imports.pdf

To be frank I find it hard to belive the farming industry will go totally unsupported, we need every scrap of land in production, to keep providing as much food as possible. I personaly think we are coming to the end of the time of plenty, where food is concerned.
And a system is needed to let farming flourish, not wilt away.

I still think a system of tax on importers that protects the farm gate price is the best way to go, it encourages production and helps increase the uk's self sufficiency, so we can better ride out any storms to come.
The idea is in my posts in the other thread I started. You simply remove the profit from importing cheap food if it's below uk farm gate minimums. But you trade freely, removing the profit will effectly bar cheap imports. Without tariffs or fixed price barriers. The importers will still be free to import, but not free to make money from cheap imports. If they are below the uk minimums. Which is more a deterrent that a tax, it just deters anyone wanting to import cheap food because they make nothing from it after tax.