I'm not taking issue with any of your other statements but...But most of those "family farms" ARE agribusinesses.
http://findourcommonground.com/food-...rporate-farms/
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports the vast majority of farms and ranches in the United States are family owned and operated – in fact, 96 percent of the 2.2 million farms in the United States are family farms.
- Data from the last census show the number of non-family corporate farms and their percentage of total sales have remained unchanged for two decades. What’s more, after decades of decline, USDA figures show the number of family farms has actually grown by about 4 percent.
and
Most of the U.S. domestic production of food and fiber comes from relatively few large operations. The 2007 Ag Census showed that large and very large family farms produced over 63 percent of the value of all products sold (though they accounted for less than 9 percent of all family farms,) while non-family farms produced approximately 21 percent, and the nearly 2 million small farms and ranches (sales under $250,000) produced approximately 15 percent.
http://www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/ag_syst..._overview.html
Of course we have to decide if we want to trust the USDA for this to be a valid rebuttal. Originally Posted by boardman
You responded to this "stupid" thread, so what does that make you? The person who is pointing out your stupidity.The drought in California is affecting the entire nation. Not only is it the most populous state, it also grows - or used to grow - the most food.
Most food crops are raised by family farms in this country. BS. See my other posts. And what is a "food crop"? Are you going to exempt things like corn that is used in ethanol from being a food crop? Are you going to try ot tweak the definition of food crop to try to make your argument seem true?
The drought is in California and has been going on almost ten years. This increase has been very rapid the last three or four years. It is also the federal government that is regulating water in California and has failed to find a solution.
Did you really just blame the government for failing to make it rain? What would the GOP do to find a solution? Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn
Now we hear that Pelosi has gotten an exemption for her part of the country. Now ask yourself this, how can she get an exemption from nature? She can't, so you have to conclude that the federal government has some resources that she can get that will be denied to other Californians. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ain-on-green-/ Originally Posted by JD BarleycornPelosi didn't get the exemption, jerk off. That was Drudge's spin and you bought it.
But most of those "family farms" ARE agribusinesses.Now you're misquoting me. Child labor? I said the children of the farmer have to be documented and conpensated according to the law. That is not child labor in the sense that you are using it. Then again, the government is doing the exact same misdefinition on purpose.
A large number of those families are land holders that don't do the farming themselves. Everything (or most things) is hired out to contractors. They often buy up the land of other farmers that have failed and lease it back to them to farm it.
And far, far too many of them are getting subsidies from the government to operate.
The model of ma and pa and the young uns doing all the labor on the family plot is a thing of the remote past.
So JD's points about beef prices rising because farmers can't use child labor are as dumb as a post. Originally Posted by ExNYer
The drought in California is affecting the entire nation. Not only is it the most populous state, it also grows - or used to grow - the most food.If you want to redefine what a food crop is then take it up with the commodities and exchange market. A food crop is what goes into the human food exchange. Now you can say (incorrectly) that soybeans are a human food crop but most of them end up making oil. But you can say that because some of them go into soy and that crappy tofu. Corn is a food crop even if some of it goes into making gasoline (ethanol but who's counting).
In previous drought years, the farms were able to live off the stored water in reservoirs. But those reservoirs are now running dry. To a degree we have never seen before. Not even close.
As a result, crops are either not being planted or the output per acre is a small fraction of what it normally is. The result is large shortages and higher prices.
But you think it is because farm family children can't work the fields, right?
Pelosi didn't get the exemption, jerk off. That was Drudge's spin and you bought it.
Did you even read that link you posted? San Francisco has had the exemption for years. 85% of their water comes from Hetch Hetchy. The pipeline drains 15% of the river flow. It is a lot easier and more effective to get sa small number of farmers to cut back on their portion than to get millions of SFer's to cut back on drinking, flushing, and showering.
There isn't "some resource" that the federal government has that is being denied to other Californians, dope. There is a finite resource that Fish and Wildlife has divvied up between SF and San Joaquin farmers. It is that simple.
If the farmers go out of business, the food will be raised elsewhere. It is easier for farm production to shift elswhere in the country than for millions of San Franciscans to relocate. Originally Posted by ExNYer
If you want to redefine what a food crop is then take it up with the commodities and exchange market. A food crop is what goes into the human food exchange. Now you can say (incorrectly) that soybeans are a human food crop but most of them end up making oil. But you can say that because some of them go into soy and that crappy tofu. Corn is a food crop even if some of it goes into making gasoline (ethanol but who's counting).Jackoff.
Your last paragraph kind of beats the working argument about the drought. If crops don't grow someplace then they will be raised someplace else. CA has been in a drought for a decade and a lot of their crops are speciality crops but if they haven't been growing for the last few years then they are being raised somewhere else (as you said). So if they are being raised somewhere else then why did the prices go up in the last couple of years? Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn
Jackoff.You are right - and how many of them that come across are the good ones, and how many bring their family and collect government benefits? (hint: 50% of immigrant families get benefits)
One good Mexican can outwork all of a farmer's kids. And get paid less than 40K for it. And the return to the farmer will be a lot more than 40K. Originally Posted by ExNYer