Moderators: If this is considered political, please delete it. But I don't think it is, if you read the article (and I hope you can, I have a subscription so I can see it) towards the end it mentions that a coalition of Republicans and Democrats are finally realizing that getting bigger and bigger is not the solution unless you are one of those who is at the top of what is getting bigger. I've lived in the plains states for most of my 69 years. Many in my family owned small family farms. My friends were the sons of small farmers. Today, there are no small family farms left, unless it's a hobby farm. The "family" farms friends of mine own now are large agribusiness operations. You don't farm 160 acres (a quarter section) today and raise a family. In Iowa, where I live, with some of the best farmland in the world, most farmers are farming on at least 10 sections. I know some that are a lot bigger. You don't have a farmer who raises some hogs, cows (some for beef, some for milk), and corn, rye, wheat and sorghum, like they did when I was a boy. In this area it's strictly corn and soybeans, and it's either to feed the hogs and steers or for ethanol. Hogs are by contract, and few operations are independent, most of the hogs in my part of Iowa are on contract with Iowa Select, owned by Jeff Hanson. Lots of things in this part of Iowa have the Hanson name on them. The packing plants are mostly owned by Chinese companies. Jeff and the packing companies set the price for what they pay for hogs. Take it or don't bother raising hogs.
If you read the article, there was a law that said suppliers could not sell to big companies at a better price than they gave the little guys. That anti-trust law was enforced for 40 years. Then it was decided this stifled "competition". What it did was do away with competition, and killed off small grocery stores. If you live somewhere with your choice of 3 Wal-marts and/or Krogers within a mile, well aren't you the lucky SOB. You can buy groceries from the big guys, who tell the suppliers how much they want to pay, and the suppliers make up the difference by charging the few little guys that are left. But if you live where I do, in the middle of the nation's breadbasket, you have to drive a minimum of 6 miles to get groceries. Minimum. There is no competition. The big guys own the game and they set the rules. Pay attention to what your representatives are really representing.
As I said in the beginning, this is not, or should not be, a partisan issue. Legislators on both sides of the aisle are starting to work together in recognition that this is something that effects everyone. This is the second article I have read today that talks about the partnerships between R's and D's to find solutions.
If you can find one in your area, support the little guys. I buy my beef locally and have it processed locally. I buy from as many local small businesses as I can. It's a start.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/29/opinion/inflation-groceries-pricing-walmart.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20230620 &instance_id=95601&nl=from-the-times®i_id=45053812&segment_id=136222&te=1&user _id=f75f7ac553021dd0804196fc38511aa0
Decided to put a PS on this. I've been involved in farm issues since I began as a pastor in the early 80's in South Dakota. The "Farm Bills" for over a century have not been for the benefit of farmers. They have been "cheap food for cities" bills. This nation has had some of the cheapest food in the world for decades, and it's because the policies of both Democrats and Republicans have made that the priority. None of bills have really been concerned with small family farmers, it's been about the big guys, and how to help them make food cheaper while they make a fortune.
And yes, I'm bitter.
If you read the article, there was a law that said suppliers could not sell to big companies at a better price than they gave the little guys. That anti-trust law was enforced for 40 years. Then it was decided this stifled "competition". What it did was do away with competition, and killed off small grocery stores. If you live somewhere with your choice of 3 Wal-marts and/or Krogers within a mile, well aren't you the lucky SOB. You can buy groceries from the big guys, who tell the suppliers how much they want to pay, and the suppliers make up the difference by charging the few little guys that are left. But if you live where I do, in the middle of the nation's breadbasket, you have to drive a minimum of 6 miles to get groceries. Minimum. There is no competition. The big guys own the game and they set the rules. Pay attention to what your representatives are really representing.
As I said in the beginning, this is not, or should not be, a partisan issue. Legislators on both sides of the aisle are starting to work together in recognition that this is something that effects everyone. This is the second article I have read today that talks about the partnerships between R's and D's to find solutions.
If you can find one in your area, support the little guys. I buy my beef locally and have it processed locally. I buy from as many local small businesses as I can. It's a start.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/29/opinion/inflation-groceries-pricing-walmart.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20230620 &instance_id=95601&nl=from-the-times®i_id=45053812&segment_id=136222&te=1&user _id=f75f7ac553021dd0804196fc38511aa0
Decided to put a PS on this. I've been involved in farm issues since I began as a pastor in the early 80's in South Dakota. The "Farm Bills" for over a century have not been for the benefit of farmers. They have been "cheap food for cities" bills. This nation has had some of the cheapest food in the world for decades, and it's because the policies of both Democrats and Republicans have made that the priority. None of bills have really been concerned with small family farmers, it's been about the big guys, and how to help them make food cheaper while they make a fortune.
And yes, I'm bitter.
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