Hey not looking to get into a long discussion on politics but looking for some on the ground feedback. What's going on with the farmers in certain areas talking about losing there farms? Only get snippets of information about the American farming community in Canada.

This new or just normal get big or get out economics?

Once you get big enough to climb up over that threshold "too big to fail" you can't fail. The check from Uncle Sam is the mail. Cheap food is vote power!

Another part is government picked winners. To produce a gallon of milk 5 years ago was $6 to 10$ a gallon. But it $2 at the store. Government subsidiary to the big guys and that prices the little guys out of the industry. To get even more control the small farmers that developed direct to customer markets willing to pay $10 to 12$ a gallon the government steps in and says no you can't to that either your not government inspected in the name of saf that's been made illegal.

You know because the government knows best and the big factory farm is going to be clearer than the mom a d pop farm you can come visit and is feefmdint their own family out of what you are buying from them. Sure there will be some low class places but that's up to the customers to decide where to shop and what to feed their family.

It's not the government job to pick where you shop or eat.

Factory and big grain farms can not exist without added hormones, added antibiotics and chemicals.If you want that in your food, That is up to the customer to decide also.

and why people are willing to sign up and preorder willing to pay me $5 a lb last year for pasture raised chickens so $20-$28 per whole processed bird when they can get a whole cooked bird for around 8 at the store.

Still have some government bs. For example because I'm not a licensed processor I can't part out/ cut up my birds for my customers. I have limits on where I can sell them from. Delivery and directly off the farm and farmers markets are it. I can't sell to small local restaurants that. are expensive selling only locally sourced and grown food purchases from local farmers.

I can sell 20,000 birds from the farm and be fine but if I sell 20,001 I would have issues. Now I'm not selling obverse 500 so this is not an issue for me. If I even had a market half that I would not be working off the farm I would not have time or need to.

There's no way its costing that much to produce a Gallon of milk.

Some Farmers have gotten THEMSELVES into trouble. Equipment was going up in value so fast guys were buying all new equipment in the spring, 0% down, 0 payments for 6 months, they were then able to trade that equipment in at the end of the year for basically what they paid, they were essentially getting free leases and operating loans were 4%. Suddenly they went to trade in equipment now financed at 7%+ and found out they were going to be hundreds of thousands in the red on a single combine. Operating loans also went up to 7-8%. Suddenly their on the hook for Tens of Thousands of dollars in interest PER MONTH and grain prices fell from near all time highs to a more long term average. Everyone HATES taxes but farmers seem to hate them to the point they'll go broke to not pay them. When grain was high and operating cost lower they spent money like cowboys in a whorehouse, new bins, new buildings, etc. They should have enough to not bother with operating loans but they were to busy trying to outbid their neighbor on land that wouldn't cash flow at $10 bushel corn now its sitting at or under $5.

Locally many people who had cattle tore down the fencing and plowed the pastures when corn was up and cattle was down, now it's the opposite and it's to much money and work to rebuild the fences and they don't want cows, they killed their Cash Cow and now have no diversity on the farm.

Some of my Frugal neighbors bought a couple new used pieces of equipment, continued to work on the old stuff, didn't buy land that couldn't cash flow and I hope they end up in positron to take full advantage of others foolishness.

In the 80's there was a federal government buyout of dairy farms due to over-supply of milk. It was a bid-offer program. Some of the neighbors submitted outrageous offers, but the government accepted them all because only a small portion of the dairies submitted offers (like the current government employee buyout; not as many accepting as was hoped). The dairies were paid not to produce milk and were making more than the dairies still milking.
It goes all the way back to the Nixon days. A decision was made that big ag was more dependable and productive than small ag and if subsidies (government intervention) were needed to sustain that, then so be it. Abundant, cheap food supply was the goal. However, even before Nixon's ag policies, the American farmer has struggled for a century. There were huge numbers of small farmers leaving the farms in the 50's and 60's. Their farms were often bought up by other farmers at bargain prices. Markets, weather, bad decisions on slim margins, diseases, sometimes regulations, equipment prices relative to production; farming is a tough business.

I live in farm country. Many of the family farms have gone out of business because of the corporate farms. One corporate farm near me milks 1700 cows daily.

Taxes are going up in Illinois. Every year Ag land goes up 10% per year per acre. I'm on the Peoria County Ag Land Tax Assessment Review Committee - so I know this. I'm a director for the Peoria County Farm Bureau and represent Kickapoo Township. I am in charge of all Peoria County Farm Bureau Property and Ag in the Classroom that reaches 65,000 kids a year in our county.
Cost are going up like everything else.
Regular property tax is going up too- my house and the land it sets on went up 26% last year. Farmers have a lot of land and they pay a lot of tax.
This is why farmers are pulling out hedge rows and farming ditch to ditch. They have to. As a Farmer in Central Illinois I do not spend money like a ''cowboy in a whorehouse''. I cannot make enough to live on my farm due to paying so much on taxes. The last Dairy farm in Peoria County just stopped selling milk to the commercial dairy that picked it up from the farm. They sold all but 20 cattle and are now selling shares of cattle and selling milk for $10 a gallon. It does cost a lot - go buy some cows and a farm and equipment and then milk twice a day. I grew up working on a dairy farm so I know this. Feed the cows all year. I also make and sell hay so know this first hand also.
I get 3 or 4 calls and texts a month telling me my place is just what the realtor is looking for. Some of them sound pretty good to me. Why should I work all week and then bust my butt on the farm so someone driving by in his 80 thousand dollar pick up can say I'm a rich farmer?
Most of my equipment is more than 50 years old. I'm fencing in part of my deer woods for pasture this spring. I am using hedge posts I cut myself and buying fence for about $3,000.00. I am clearing the way for the posts right now- all on my own time by myself. I have a tractor and 25 year old skid steer. I am cutting each post myself, putting them in the ground, then putting up the woven wire alone and stretching alone with my tractor. I'm hoping to raise 6 more calves on this new pasture. Farming is not an income most years. It's close to half an income most years.
I make and sell hay, calves, chickens and guineas and eggs, fallow deer, and we have a market garden. I sell firewood and posts and timber too. You have to do it all - all the time to make enough to have a farm unless you are independently wealthy.
Last night I got our local Illinois Farm Bureau paper. On the front page there's an article titled '' Is farming worth it''. I haven't read it yet. Hoping to tomorrow night during the snow storm

PS. Sometimes when you see a new bin or building you have to realize that it might be also due to taxes. In business if you are going to have to pay a large amount of tax - you may be able to take advantage of the law as it is written and pay for a bin or building or equipment to offset the tax liability. Knowing the tax code and doing those thins can help you. Knowing the rules for your area and knowing how to get around some of them legally can be the difference between making it or losing it. Like our dairy farmer friend selling his raw milk for $10.00 a gallon. A lot of people are signing up for raw milk. He's the only one doing it. Maybe it will help him out. Time will tell.

My statements were general statements that don't apply to everyone. I've heard Illinois is pricing out farms due to taxes which is a shame. It just seems like the guys who are complaining the loudest are the ones who've made some really bad decisions when times were good and are completely caught off guard when things tightened up. I farm 280 acres, I often also wonder "is this worth it".

Are you talking in South Africa where the crooked government is stealing white Africans farms?

Donner- check this out- this is true - watch for fireworks;

The American Farm Bureau and Illinois Farm Bureau are at odds right now also. The American Farm Bureau is made of mostly Southern Farmers. Some are peanut farmers who doe not raise peanuts anymore and receive subsidies for not raising peanuts- but then they plant soybeans and harvest those and sell them- so there is now this controversy between the southern or American Farm Bureau and other state farm bureaus and when the American guys get questioned - the state farm bureau gets kicked out...The states think this is not farm to get paid for two crops but only grow one- since guys like me grow one and get paid for one- why do they get paid twice? This supports their farms and leaves others out- why not have a level playing field? And this is where we are today with DOGE.

Land theft is happening here right now- Look at Lahaina, LA, Paradise, ect.

Farming isn't going to get any easier, or more profitable, if a good chunk of the labor force is deported.

It will for all of us who don't have quasi slave labor! I have ICE on speed dial, all these huge dairies with Guatamaulans living in trailer houses and working 80 hours a week for $10 a hour and no OT can SUCK IT.

Barring a real catastrophe like the Great Depression, nuclear world war or Covid x3 event. Land will be THE best asset to have in the future and near future. What does America look like with 400 million people? How bout half a billion? Towns and cities ballon country side shrinks and wilderness vanishes. In the far future we humans will be very different from what we are now. Unless something changes we will overgrow our planet and live and subsist in very different ways. At times I relish the fact I will not see it.

I’m an in the trenches corn soybeans farmer and wannabe Daniel Boon. Geronimo is gone, the buffalo is gone, the family farm is gone, the dream is gone. Sleep tight

The guys that build fence for all of my neighbors and me are illegal. And hard workers. And good guys with good families. Not sure about slave labor--but I don't see any white guys or black guys showing up to do it.

Guys used to be able to actually own a farm and build their own fence, milk their own cows. Now huge operations using Illegals dominate agriculture and it's not from lack of others wanting to owner operate, they just cant compete with the giants and their quasi slave labor.

I build my own fence, Larry on here is building his own fence, why should we need to compete against the Illegals who are not even supposed to be here?

On the other hand, give me the number to your "good illegals", I have a fence that needs to be built as soon as the ICE melts.

LOL. They do good work. I farm part time. I am glad I have the resource. Mending is one thing (did that all weekend) but I don't have time to put in a half mile of fence these days.

You complain on one thread about tax money going to illegals, and on this one you're part of the problem.