Direct Payments to farmers/ranchers

[lunkerslayer]

www.willistonherald.com/news/feds-d...cle_1a915ea8-ad61-11e7-b9a0-3f1aa6f05243.html

Good news some help is coming to north dakota

 

[guywhofishes]

Droughts indeed suck - but the photo/caption baffles me:

"Corn grows in late July in a field north of Dickinson"

Corn was not grown in the Dickinson area when I went to school out their in the mid 80s. I assume because nobody was silly enough then to expect a decent corn crop?

New crop genetics, retarded ethanol program, and a favorable wet cycle and boom - tons of corn growing in western ND.

One dry year and BAM - corn crops failed - OMG!!!

whodathunk

 

[SDMF]

I have a friend out by Glen Ullin that had to sell his entire beef herd. His pastures were dry, his wells were losing pressure, his hay land wasn't amounting to shit so he knew he wouldn't have winter feed either. I don't know it there is a conservative minded approach that lets him get by.

Nightmare scenario. Big influx of cash which will be taxed to the hilt, grazing land that will only produce whatever $$ he can rent it for, and hay land that may or may not turn any $$ next year unless it too is rented out. That's just the dollars and cents of it, there is of course a personal toll taken upon someone who can no longer participate in their chosen profession and lifestyle.

 

[eyexer]

Toy haulers, boats, etc. is painting a broad brush over farmers. Do you like cheap groceries? Have any of you year after year out up an ass load of money hoping to get it back and then some at the end of said year? Farming looks easy to some who have never actually done it.

where the hell you getting these cheap groceries?

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I'm all for it if it comes with strings. You take the cash you don't post your land. After all the rest of us are providing the cash.

 

[gst]

;:;banghead

 

[NPO_Aaron]

I know nothing about farming/ranching economics, but this sure is an interesting read.

 

[deleted]

Droughts indeed suck - but the photo/caption baffles me:

"Corn grows in late July in a field north of Dickinson"

Corn was not grown in the Dickinson area when I went to school out their in the mid 80s. I assume because nobody was silly enough then to expect a decent corn crop?

New crop genetics, retarded ethanol program, and a favorable wet cycle and boom - tons of corn growing in western ND.

One dry year and BAM - corn crops failed - OMG!!!

whodathunk

What crops didn't fail out there this year?

 

[Davy Crockett]

What crops didn't fail out there this year?

http://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/...even-during-drought-conditions-430963633.html

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http://listen.sdpb.org/post/hemp-getting-roots-north-dakota-despite-drought

 

[AR-15]

wonder could I get a check for a new home in Arizona and maybe a nice cabin in Minn., plus I could use a new Harley to check my fences

 

[guywhofishes]

What crops didn't fail out there this year?

properly managed grasslands

 

[Kurtr]

where the hell you getting these cheap groceries?

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I'm all for it if it comes with strings. You take the cash you don't post your land. After all the rest of us are providing the cash.

Well you have access to cheap food every day. Compare us to any where else in the world. Also you have more access to land than any where.just to be able to hunt and use that Land is foreign to people in Europe. It's easy to sit from the side lines and say this and that money talks bullshit walks when you starting your farm to make millions

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properly managed grasslands

I saw grass this year this year that hasn't had a cow on it for a year and is still shorter than my pecker. It never hit that 3 inch mark

 

[guywhofishes]

Well you have access to cheap food every day. Compare us to any where else in the world. Also you have more access to land than any where.just to be able to hunt and use that Land is foreign to people in Europe. It's easy to sit from the side lines and say this and that money talks bullshit walks when you starting your farm to make millions

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I saw grass this year this year that hasn't had a cow on it for a year and is still shorter than my pecker. It never hit that 3 inch mark

I believe that. What were input costs? My point is grasslands can handle semi-arid climates without so much as a hiccup. Grasslands are built to tough it out, come back when rains come, with zero input/effort.

 

[Kurtr]

well you have taxes the cost of keeping fence up maybe rent then you dont have any hay to put for the winter. One thing i have learned is its the little things that add up and take a slice off the bottom line,

 

[BrokenBackJack]

The worst part of this whole situation is the old rancher that has spent his whole life getting his herd where you have good milk produced for the calf, temperment so they don't grind you into the dirt when calving, and small calving weights but really put the pounds on once they hit the ground. These are things that take a whole life time to produce and are sold in a minute. I truly do feel sorry for the ranchers as a whole and especially for the ones that have to sell all or parts of their herd. Just start adding up cost of land either rented or bought, fencing, the costs for all the machinery to put up hay and clean feedlots, vet bills and such, plus raising a family on the little income they clear and ONLY get once per year.
A true rancher is one of the hardest working jobs there is as most of it is manual work. Plus don't forget to add when they lose a calf or a cow and calf, that comes off of the top and cuts your profits (if any) down drastically !
We used to ranch and farm and i really do miss being around cattle especially at calving time. Yes it is long hours and can be lots of work if having to pull calves, but it was a good part of my life especially before my Dad passed away early in my life. Lots of great memories and lots of hard work but very satisfying and i cherish those memories dearly !
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Duckslayer100]

I'm kind of curious: how many modern ranchers put their herd out to pasture and rotate pasture land on a regular basis? If that's still common, is it regional?

Only reason I ask is because the few ranchers I know of in the eastern part of the state keep their cattle in a yard and bring feed to them. But it seems like out west, the tradition has been to move cattle around to pasture land (thus all the cattle guards).

I'm sure a year like this year where the grass didn't grow it didn't matter how much pasture land you had. But I can imagine that ranchers who took out pasture land for cash crops that never flourished and had no backup for feed sure were put in a pickle. It comes to mind as the last time I was in Bowman I was absolutely blown away by the amount of standing corn down there in areas that were almost all pasture or small grains in years prior.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

I believe that. What were input costs? My point is grasslands can handle semi-arid climates without so much as a hiccup. Grasslands are built to tough it out, come back when rains come, with zero input/effort.

Grass is tougher than corn and buffalo are tougher than cows and.............why do farmers in the red river valley plant sugar beets instead of grass? Because guywithsweettooth wants it. Consumer demand is a funny thing. Tabaco is subsidized going into the ground and taxed like hell coming out.

 

[gst]

I believe that. What were input costs? My point is grasslands can handle semi-arid climates without so much as a hiccup. Grasslands are built to tough it out, come back when rains come, with zero input/effort.

um.......

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There is a fair bit of management and work that goes into properly managing grass to get the most out of it. Those require "input/effort" ESPECIALLY in a drought.

There are growing numbers of feedlots in ND especially western ND where the cows are. Those cows on that grass raise calves that need ot be feed. Those calves need feed stuffs grown ot be fed. So you see corn planted where it traditionally has not been. Drought tolerant varieties no till technologies..most years it works. Farming is funny in that you can;t control Ma Nature so nothing is guaranteed.

 

[guywhofishes]

um.......

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There is a fair bit of management and work that goes into properly managing grass to get the most out of it. Those require "input/effort" ESPECIALLY in a drought.

There are growing numbers of feedlots in ND especially western ND where the cows are. Those cows on that grass raise calves that need ot be feed. Those calves need feed stuffs grown ot be fed. So you see corn planted where it traditionally has not been. Drought tolerant varieties no till technologies..most years it works. Farming is funny in that you can;t control Ma Nature so nothing is guaranteed.

how did I know you would consider "leaving it alone" as input cost/effort

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gosh I wish I had your smarts

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Grass is tougher than corn and buffalo are tougher than cows and.............why do farmers in the red river valley plant sugar beets instead of grass? Because guywithsweettooth wants it. Consumer demand is a funny thing. Tabaco is subsidized going into the ground and taxed like hell coming out.

your kneejerk reaction to my supporting ranching over crops in semi-arid climates seems bizarre to me

wait - no it doesn't

 

[Zogman]

"gosh I wish I had your smarts"

Spend your vacation in Antler next year and see if you can keep up!!!

 

[gst]

how did I know you would consider "leaving it alone" as input cost/effort

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gosh I wish I had your smarts

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your kneejerk reaction to my supporting ranching over crops in semi-arid climates seems bizarre to me

wait - no it doesn't

Holy a bit sensitive this morning.

Perhaps if you had my "smarts" you would be out when it is -40 degrees thawing out frozen waters instead of in your fancy Ice castle drinking Busch lites.

Have you considered that people who have all their lands in grass are very likely soley ranchers and those ranchers have cattle.

Kinda starting with the basics here.

And funny thing about cattle is they need ot eat something during droughts. So you either make a decision ot sell ALL of your cattle under your "leaving it alone" scenario (or move them ot feed which has input costs that have to be allocated back to your grasslands somehow) or you are forced to more intensively manage your drought impacted grass to keep a core portion of the herd you have spent decades building genetically intact which requires MORE management and possibly even more input costs as you supplement and rotate cattle more .

but then again I may not know anything about this kinda thing either and some fella from Fargo that does fancy technology stuff knows better.........