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Non-Tech : Farming -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elroy Jetson who wrote (551)	3/16/2008 10:15:58 AM
From: Tommaso	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4446

>>.Grain prices are tremendously higher than production costs. <, This is typical in the early stages of very bad inflation. Farmers prosper mightily. But this does not mean that grain prices will come back down any time soon. Supplies are very tight, demand is increasing, and a crop failure anywhere in the world, in either north or south hemisphere, can only make things tighter. Poor people will suffer most of all from higher food prices. Poor people in poor countries will suffer even more. Poor people in the poorest countries will die of starvation. As recall, you believe in abiotic oil, that is, that crude oil originates from inside the earth and oozes upwards, and that we will therefore never run out of oil. Do you believe also that food crops somehow miraculously renew themselves?

To: Elroy Jetson who wrote (551)	3/16/2008 12:32:02 PM
From: richardred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4446

>For those who require assistance, a good definition of a bubble is "trade in high volumes at prices that are considerably at variance from its cost or economic value." I guess I need some assistance then. Would higher education and medical costs be a bubble? It would seem that both have exceed their costs by a wide margin. Am I wrong to assume medical costs and educational costs have far outpaced inflation with regard to the consumer price index? IMO- Many variables are involved because it's hard to put a value on a college education or medical care. A few variables come to mind. Such as competition, specialization of services. Other considerations, medical research, and higher education can also be subsidized. EDIT: Sorry to all: I will try not get to get sidetracked or off topic into a deep debate on this thread. I believe this thread is intended to be towards Farming related topics. I will continue to stay on topic. I will take it to an appropriate thread of your choice. If you want further debate on what I have bought to the table.

To: Elroy Jetson who wrote (551)	3/16/2008 1:52:00 PM
From: gcrispin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4446

Actually, the last part of your post was a Jim Cramer question that was posed to Buffet. Here is the order of the complete text. JIM CRAMER (ON TAPE): Asking the icon. Sir, isn't it true that we have an energy policy backing ethanol that is creating so much inflation that perhaps it would be better to stop the emphasis on ethanol, allowing inflation to come down and the Federal Reserve to cut more? Am I wrong that mankind is being crucified upon a cross of ethanol right now, and it's killing the poorer nations and the people in our country who can't afford anymore to eat chicken or beef? QUICK: Warren, what do you think? BUFFETT: I wouldn't put it exactly in those terms... There is no question the ethanol program is a bad idea. I follow the soft white wheat market out of Portland and one could argue that the "bubble" has crashed. Two months ago the price of soft white traded over fifteen dollars. Today it is ten and change. New crop trades at nine. If you had a thirty three percent retracement in the S&P, the price of oil or the price of gold in two months, it would be characterized as a crash. Some of the "bubble" has been institutionalized by increased land, fertilizer, farm machinery, and diesel prices. But I don't think the high prices have been around long enough for bankers to start financing programs based on the increases. I think the entire increase in the grain complex has been influenced by a number of factors, the most important of which has been the weather. Supply shortages of wheat have been a result of drought. Global warming certainly is a factor, especially in Australia where wheat production has declined.