ALL ABOUT TRACTORS by paul Wallem In 1981, I wrote this column for Rocky Mountain Journal, at a time when ag-riculture was under a great deal of stress. High interest rates, the grain embargo and other factors had resulted in dark days for ag. Recently, I looked at this old column again. What amazed me is how little has changed in the past 45 years. So I’m reprinting it, and you can make some comparisons. One thing seems obvious: farming has not become easier. Written in 1981: Today, there are fewer farmers than ever before because of the huge investment required. At the same time, our population has grown to the point where each farmer must feed over 50 people. How has the American farmer kept up with the increased demand? By pro-ducing more per acre on fewer acres. Our American farmer has accomplished these increases even though he has absolutely no control over the price he receives for his product. He takes what he can get for his corn, soybeans, milk; in fact, the prices he is getting right now are well below what he was getting at this time last year. Yet he is paying more for his machinery, fertilizer, seed and other items needed to grow a crop. Now add one more “cloud” in the sky. On top of everything else, the farmer is at the mercy of the weather. If a wet year comes along and he can’t plant at the proper time, he ends up with a poorer crop. So where do America’s big stake gamblers really live? Las Vegas or Reno? No, they are right here in our country and call themselves farmers. And all they are doing is feeding us better than any country in the world. At the same time, they are overproducing enough so we can export a fourth of our total produc-tion to pay for overpriced oil from other countries. The next time you buy a loaf of bread, it might help to know that the farmer has no control over the price of wheat in that bread. He gets less than 15 per-cent. The rest goes for baking, trucking, processing, packaging, advertising, taxes, etc. However, our gambler/farmer will keep on feeding us well even though the odds are stacked against him. He’s done it since the Indians taught him to use fish for fertilizer. He’ll keep on doing it because he wants to be his own boss, work outdoors, live farther than 50 feet from his neighbors, and grow a crop in spite of all the problems that come along. He will keep on being a laborer, accountant, mathematician, agronomist, busi-ness manager and livestock expert even though his return on investment is one of the lowest of any industry. The American farmer. Best food producing ma-chine ever invented. 2026 tractor pull winners at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville Bryan Bowles - Light Super Stock/Alter Ego Mike Conny - Pro Stock/MAC Nasty Josh Miley - Super Farm/High Maintenance Danny Barker - 4.1 Limited ProStock/Rhapsody I keep 6 honest men; they taught me all I know. Their names are What & Why & When - and How & Where & Who Paul Wallem was raised on an Illinois dairy farm. He spent 13 years with Corporate IH in domestic & foreign assignments. He resigned to own and op-erate two IH dealerships. He is the author of THE BREAKUP of IH & SUC-CESSES & INDUSTRY FIRSTS of IH. See all of his books on www.PaulWallem.com. E-mail your comments to pwallem9@gmail.com. |
