Farming in the U.K. vs the US

[PeterM]

I'm new to the farming industry, but out of curiosity is it more expensive to farm in the US or in the U.K.? I'm talking like all expenses.

 

[Pasty]

Probably depends what you want to spend. The 2 main farming expenses are cheddar cheese and port so you'll have to go from there.

 

[GTB]

Well I've never farmed in the US so I've no idea I'm afraid and I very much doubt anyone else will either.

 

[Campbell]

The Walton's will be along with some words of advice later, as soon as John boy has finished his chores.

 

[andybk]

I would have thought its the invisible things like red tape that costs the most in uk , carcase disposal is an obvious one ,Wrap disposal another that needs paperwork at a cost , most plastics are recycled so are sold on anyway so minimal cost to collection centre , they get paid in and out , everything you do here needs to be certified and have paperwork , , buying sprays for knapsack use requires you to produce a certificate , i have just payed nearly £400 to do a course to comply ,Trailer tests for youngsters another £400 . etc etc Usa farmers can buy ABs off the shelf , here you need a vet (prob a good thing ) The uk has been good at creating jobs out of thin air (thanks tony blair) and all need to be paid for , I wouldnt mind if we got paid extra for our goods but we are expected to trade with the supermarkets at near world prices .The cost of actual production otherwise is very similar i would have thought .

 

[Muck Spreader]

I think you will find US farmers have similar costs and just as many rules and regs as UK farmers (excluding subsidy ones). Some will be more onerous some less, if you are producing food it goes with the territory nowadays and rightly so. @Roger Perry will know. Places like India and China certainly have less regulations and cheaper costs

 

[PostHarvest]

The majority of the population of the USA live within 100 miles of the coasts, so there is a huge area in the middle where farmers can operate without causing too many problems for neighbours - mainly because there are so few neighbours and as most of them will be farmers too, they may be more understanding. So there are vast beef feed lots that stink to high heaven and large dairy units that only have to dig a big lagoon to hold their slurry. Those wouldn't be allowed in the UK because of causing nuisance to people who live next door.
Most fields in the USA are much larger than in the UK, these enable large machines to be used without obstructions like trees, fences and stone walls. There is less time spent turning in small fields so more productive working time.
There is a fundamental difference between permitting in Europe and the USA. In Europe, nothing is allowed unless you have a permit to do it. In the USA, anything is allowed unless there is a regulation that says you can't do it. This affects most activities. As a result businesses in the USA seem to do things that would not even be attempted in Europe.
Safety standards in US agriculture and industry are much lower than in the UK. PTO shaft guards are optional and in many cases it's allowed to just apply a warning notice saying don't touch moving parts. In Europe there has to be a physical guard which adds to the cost of the machine. In the UK, agriculture has the reputation of being the most dangerous industry. The fatality rate in UK agriculture is around 8 per year per 100,000 workers. In the USA the fatality rate is around 20 per year per 100,000 workers - 2 1/2 times higher.

 

[Cropper]

Don't really know what you're asking here, so for that reason....I'm out!

 

[merino]

No one's mentioned healthcare costs so far. Your kid getting leukaemia in the UK is a tragedy, but you won't lose the farm. The same is not true in the united states, a complicated healthcare problem could be very expensive.

An additional source of business ending risk on top of the one's all farmers face makes the united states the more expensive country to farm in my view.

 

[Roger Perry]

Peter, are you U.K. or U.S. based..?

 

[multi power]

I'm thinking farming in the USA would be a lot more fun

 

[Roger Perry]

Merino,
You are perpetuating a myth, one which is untrue.
Lets' agree that if some farm family member gets' a serious illness and they need a course of expensive treatment. In both situations the person enters hospital and receives treatment, how the cost of this treatment is payed for is where it diverges.
In the U.S. it will be paid by private insurance the farm family pays on a monthly/yearly basis, the farm family will carry the amount of insurance they need to cover any event. They have choice of hospital/doctor/location.
The advantage to all this is that the payer has choice. Not saying one system is better or worse but to say you lose the farm if you are sick is not true.

Healthcare cost is high no matter where one lives

 

[PeterM]

Peter, are you U.K. or U.S. based..?

I'm from the US

 

[PeterM]

Merino,
You are perpetuating a myth, one which is untrue.
Lets' agree that if some farm family member gets' a serious illness and they need a course of expensive treatment. In both situations the person enters hospital and receives treatment, how the cost of this treatment is payed for is where it diverges.
In the U.S. it will be paid by private insurance the farm family pays on a monthly/yearly basis, the farm family will carry the amount of insurance they need to cover any event. They have choice of hospital/doctor/location.
The advantage to all this is that the payer has choice. Not saying one system is better or worse but to say you lose the farm if you are sick is not true.

Healthcare cost is high no matter where one lives

Healthcare is actually pretty affordable here in the US, and there is a lot government aid, and charitable giving.

 

[merino]

The leading cause of bankruptcy in USA is healthcare related expenses, 72% of those people have some type of healthcare insurance. Further to that american healthcare is the most expensive on earth.

Not all of us are decent Christians either, the church is not going to pay my healthcare.

 

[Roger Perry]

Peter, having farmed in UK and US I would say overall cost here (U.S) is half to two thirds of of UK cost.

Farmers in UK fight over regulation constantly which adds considerably to overall expense, unlike the US they are not self sufficient so still have to import some foods.

 

[PostHarvest]

I'm sorry Mr Perry, I have to challenge your view of health insurance in the USA. I'm in the UK but my niece in the USA contracted a kidney complaint whilst she was at school. This meantthat after she left school she couldn't find a health insurer that would write a policy on her as she had a pre-existing condition. For all the faults of the NHS, that would not happen over here.

 

[Roger Perry]

Sorry to hear that, the law has changed since then and any pre-existing condition now cannot be denied.

 

[oldoaktree]

The majority of the population of the USA live within 100 miles of the coasts, so there is a huge area in the middle where farmers can operate without causing too many problems for neighbours - mainly because there are so few neighbours and as most of them will be farmers too, they may be more understanding. So there are vast beef feed lots that stink to high heaven and large dairy units that only have to dig a big lagoon to hold their slurry. Those wouldn't be allowed in the UK because of causing nuisance to people who live next door.
Most fields in the USA are much larger than in the UK, these enable large machines to be used without obstructions like trees, fences and stone walls. There is less time spent turning in small fields so more productive working time.
There is a fundamental difference between permitting in Europe and the USA. In Europe, nothing is allowed unless you have a permit to do it. In the USA, anything is allowed unless there is a regulation that says you can't do it. This affects most activities. As a result businesses in the USA seem to do things that would not even be attempted in Europe.
Safety standards in US agriculture and industry are much lower than in the UK. PTO shaft guards are optional and in many cases it's allowed to just apply a warning notice saying don't touch moving parts. In Europe there has to be a physical guard which adds to the cost of the machine. In the UK, agriculture has the reputation of being the most dangerous industry. The fatality rate in UK agriculture is around 8 per year per 100,000 workers. In the USA the fatality rate is around 20 per year per 100,000 workers - 2 1/2 times higher.

I feel a lot of what you say some truth but a lot is fake news .
I have a good friend who contract farms in the USA .
Now he'd had USA version of HSE out one day and after a big t'do he told said man that any more regs and rules he might as well pack in and sell up as it's getting to hard to make a good living and put 20 odd men out of work .
Remember USA liable laws are ...........,

 

[Roger Perry]

Several actions by the new administration have already been helpful in rolling back silly regulation and will be helpful for farm operators.