55 Years And Counting From The Tractor Seat

By bill whitman 

With the increased violence in the Middle East, a difficult agriculture season just got harder. Will we see $5 corn and $12 beans? Yep. But don’t be deceived. Fuel is up 20-plus percent and freight will move accordingly. That means parts, new equipment, inputs, and grain hauling may all go up 10-20 percent because we know our ever-loyal vendors will take advantage of the instability in the world. They always have and they always will.

So, when we are looking at a year of losses and then add an additional projected loss increase, how do we absorb even more. More than ever, we go “bare-bones” on everything. Buy moderately priced seed, minimal fertilizer application, cultivate in lieu of herbicide application(s), simply generate cash flow the cheapest way possible.

Beware. We’re seeing a side of business we have not seen before. Your failure is irrelevant to those making their living from servicing your farm. I’ve written several times about a lawsuit in Michigan where a mid-size dairy has had to sue a dealership for charging them for a failed major tractor repair. Initially the lawsuit involved just the dealership but following an intensive forensic and impartial teardown, the wrong parts were installed, tools left in the machine, parts installed backward. Now the statutes in Michigan allow the manufacturer to be brought into the suit.

I honestly believed that given comments by corporate folks prior to their inclusion, they would, at long last (after four years, five planting seasons), put an end to this abuse. While they may still press for a settlement, they have, to date, continued the proverbial stall. When I know that this dairyman and his family have been loyal to that manufacturer for decades, I have to wonder when the market lost its way?

Brand loyalty has driven agriculture business for decades. Unfortunately, we have arrived at a time when our vendors are no longer loyal to us. Are there exceptions? Yes. I’ve talked about BJ Biltz and his reasonably priced equipment shop, Dean Ford Equipment, which presents a fairly priced selection of late model equipment; John Thacker, who has spent decades looking out for the interests of his seed and herbicide customers; Dayne Jessup, who is showing the way for young farmers to “make it” by mixing farming and custom work; and Charlie Mullins, who has a small used equipment business running along with his cattle business. Again, these people are the exception, most of the businesses we do business with are interested in one thing and one thing only, as much cash from your pocket to theirs on a massive scale.

As an aside, the problem is that vendors whose roots used to be in agriculture have been bought out by big corporations who look only at the equity in agriculture as a gold mine.

I’ve beat this dead horse too much, but it bears repeating, a human being requires three things to live: food, clothing and shelter. The very first on this list is the most essential, food. I don’t know why the government and big corporations ignore the importance of less than 1 percent of the population that produces the most essential requirement for life, food. Those big corporations that do have seized the opportunity and began selling society on synthesized food. When every reputable study shows that real meat and vegetables are far and away better for us, there are those that will tell us not to believe what we know but believe what they tell us. Sadly, much like DEF, sulfur, oil, coal, solar, wind, ethanol, all of which has been exploited with agriculture’s equity being used to finance these initiatives in one way or another.

As far as I can tell, like every other challenge agriculture has faced throughout time, no one is going to fix this but us. We need to start communicating with our neighbors, not as competitors but as fellow soldiers in the same fox hole. You’ll be surprised by the ideas that will come from working together.

Horse Sense: Even a blind horse can tell the difference between fresh hay and old manure.

IndianaAg@bluemarble.net