Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (194)	5/30/2005 5:51:32 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Respond to of 24213

WR, Re: I'd guess the corporate farms would get hit harder, just because of sheer size. Generally speaking this has not been the case in the past 50 years. Agribusiness has the government lobbied into a position where the bigger the grower is, the more likely he is to be subsidized. Additionally, small farmers are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to production loans. While your sentiments may be great, and like you I'm on the side of the little guy, but experience has show that when the Peak Oil crunch comes to agribusiness, it will once again be the small farmer who has the hardest time surviving. Just compare the recent article on this tread about an independent orange grower trying to get his oranges to market. He's under stress and so is the trucker he might want to hire. Competing against him will be companies like Wal-Mart, Safeway and Albertson's which will have their own truck fleets, fueled by diesel bought not on the open market but at discounted rates due to bulk purchasing or sophisticated hedging which the small operator will not be able to avail himself of. Any crisis in agriculture will favor the large agribusiness interests. That is because of the structure of the market and the fact that agribusiness runs government policy, and not the other way around. The small farmer has no friend in Washington.