Farmer’s love the free market…. except for the market they are in.

[blueinindiana]

Farmers are all for globalization and free markets except for them. They hate Democrats and welfare but readily except tax breaks and price floors. Many farmers are also arrogant, acting like their product is somehow more important than anyone else.

Food can be grown outside of the Unites States just like any other product.

[brentspeak]

1. Strange. I know some farmers, and they're Democrats, and against globalization

You're right that some farmers resemble what you describe. But there's just as many, if not more, who don't. I refer to family farmers.

Now CORPORATE farmers -- that's a whole other ballgame.

[H2O Man]

19. I agree.

I grew up on a small farm, and worked on numerous farms through my teens and early 20s. The only people who were close to matching the description in the OP were those who owned corporate farms as part of their investment strategy.

The idea that the crops grown in the US can just as easily be grown elsewhere reflects a degree of ignorance that indicates a detachment from American soil.

[Porcupine]

2. Hey, tell me. I live in the land of the welfare queen farmers...

republicans to a man. For several years we had farmers in my county who recieved subsidies on the rice crop that actually exceeded the commodity price of the crop.

Mind you these poor souls also get water from a state funded canal system, the water comes from a federally funded dam, get goverment secured loans for their tractors, fuel those tractors tax free, get a break from the power company on the power for their pumps and are allowed to sell their water allotment from the dam to cities in the south and pump the local aquifer dry.

Life's so tough for them that they are allowed to write off the cost of their massive quad cab pickups, their power, phone and internet bills. The only things they don't get a write off on is groceries, vacations and clothes.

In fact it's so tough that rice-farmer Dave calls the weekly 2 hour liberal talk radio show every saturday to complain about how he has to pay for all those lazy people on welfare. Rice farmer Dave didn't serve in the military and neither have his sons. They have better things to do.

[fed-up]

7. Please don't paint all farmers w/same brush-my BF is an organic farmer &

doesn't get any subsidies, works from 60-80 hours a week, drives an old van to market and has worked hard organizing anti-war protests and is currently working on universal, single payer health care.

Yes, many rice farmers in our area get subsidies, but the small family farmers don't.

Here is a list of those farmers getting subsidies

http://www.ewg.org/farm/region.php?fips=06000http://www.ewg.org/farm/region.php?fips=06000

[KharmaTrain]

8. I Think There's A Confusion

Between the large corporate farms and the struggling family farmers. I lived in Iowa for a year one lifetime in the 80s when many family farms went under...into foreclosure and were bought for pennies on the dollar by corporations that in turn put a greater squeeze on the remaining family farmers as they had to compete with huge co-ops that not only locked up the best markets, but also manipulated the price through over production.

Just as in any issue on here, broad strokes tend to be used at first, but hopefully those who are interested will look into this issue further and see the many facets and big challenges facing the shrinking number of family-owned farms.

Cheers...

[Porcupine]

15. I support farmers markets nearly every week

twice a week in the summer when we have 3 markets a week. I like to buy extra stuff and give it away. It's easy when oranges are $8 for 10#.

Todays purchases; eggs, carrots, bread, kale, apples (pink lady and fuji) onions, bread, cilantro, leeks, bok choy and oranges. Also a cookie for me and a tamale for the kid, all local. I actually think you live in my town or rather up the canyon.

I was at the farmers market at few weeks ago during a rainstorm. A few of us make it a point of it to come out at times like that and support the farmers. I'm a slow food fanatic and compulsive cook.

Farmers market is practialy my religion. Those farmers get every $$ I can afford.

[murielm99]

3. My husband is a farmer.

See him in the picture below?

It's bad enough that other products and services have been outsourced. We don't need our food supply outsourced as well.

Have you ever visited Minnesota? My family comes from there. They all have their roots in the agricultural community, and they are all Democrats.

[Qanisqineq]

4. Wow, how off you are on so many farmers

My dad is a farmer. The community my parents live in (and I grew up in) is predominantly full of farmers. They do NOT hate democrats or welfare. If anything, you are thinking of the BIG farmers, and I mean BIG millionaire farmers. The small farmer is nothing like you described. Nothing.

Arrogant? Not in the least. Once again, BIG farmers maybe.

Wow, talk about being completely off in your description. I am stunned.

[tularetom]

5. My dad was an accountant who had family farmers for clients

Most of them barely had a pot to piss in and they were constantly in hock to the banks. His clients at least the ones I knew didn't have time to hate anybody because they seemed to work about 16 hours a day. I'll grant you that there are a lot of subsidy farmers out there but they are mostly corporate managers or very large private operators. I don't think you can generalize about such a diverse group.

[rwj]

6. My Views on this subject

I think a food exporting country cartel (like opec) should be formed (with Canada and Argentina). You can view some thoughts of mine on this issue at this website http://www.geocities.com/robertjackson57/great_outdoors.html I'm a newbie who is posting some reply's so I can post my first threads

[Orrin_73]

10. Welcome to DU rwj

:hi:

[newyawker99]

12. Hi rwj!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[sendero]

9. I agree 100%..

... and have felt this way for years. The farming community is a pretty hypocritical bunch.

Of course it is true that most farming subsidies go straight to huge corporate farms, not the family farm. Nonetheless, its a rare day indeed that you'll hear a farmer talking about getting rid of them.

[MadHound]

11. Excuse the fuck outta me, but don't go throwing all farmers into the same boat

I'm a farmer, I accept no government subsidies, and I'm against globalization. My neighbor, while normally a Repbulican(though he voted Dem during the last election) is the same way. In fact you will find that most small farmers are in the same boat, not subsidized and against globalization. And if you go spouting this shit among the organic small farmers, an increasing segment of our society, you'll get your ass kicked.

The farmers who are in favor of these positions are either larger operators, or corporate farmers.

So don't make such broadbrush statements that insult people. Not only are you wrong, but you're pissing people off who are not only trying to rebuild the farming economy and are on your side.:grr:

[brentspeak]

14. Thanks, madhound.

I'm not sure where the OP was coming from, but I'm glad you set the story straight.

[Ignacio Upton]

16. Your statement is the most apt

I used to think that farmers in general (being rural) were generally conservative, but that's a myth. The agribusiness farmers who work for companies like ADM or Monsanto are generally the bad guys, NOT the family farmers or the organic farmers. They either tend to be progressive or at least socially-conservative, but populist. Painting every farmer as a hard core conservative is stupid.

[MadHound]

18. We're working on a movement out here in the boonies

Taking back the land for the small farmer, and changing our agricultural model to on that is organic and sustainable, one where farmers are once again, truly the stewards of the Earth. It is an interesting movement, bringing together some very divergent people. You have Amish, good ol' boys, old hippies, back to nature types, intellectuals, many different races and ethnicities. Yet in this sort of hodge podge you find a simmergin, ever roiling and boiling upswell for change, all working to retake our agricultural sector beck for the people. The two bywords are organic and sustainable. It brings together these people for this one cause, yet winds up changing the politics of all. As I stated earlier, I've a good ol' boy neighbor, who raises organic beef and horses. I started showing him how things that he is concerned about are connected to policies and politicians. Last fall he voted Democratic, and probably will again in '08. I've seen this throughout the movement, where agricultural awareness leads to political awareness, which leads to anger which is leading to action. We've got a pot boiling out here in the heartland, much like the Populists a century ago. And if our problems and politics aren't addressed in the relatively near future, that pot will once again boil over, burning everybody in its path.

[treestar]

22. My, aren't we violent and emotional!

All types of small businesses get swallowed up by the corporates. That's been a problem for decades. If any of these small farmers are Republicans, it's no different from the many blue collar workers who are. Maybe it's religion.

But let's take this personally and make an emotional dump over it. That'll help.

[Lars39]

13. Broadbrushing a bit, arent' you? Any links to back up these claims?

[Vidar]

17. There's a big difference between farmers & agribusiness.

[phylny]

20. I support our local farmers here.

We have two farmers markets from April through October, and I buy local produce as often as I can. These are hard-working, good people, and their produce is absolutely delicious.

[Le Taz Hot]

21. Well, we do have some pretty gross

generalizations there, don't we?

Just for the record, I've lived in the Central San Joaquin Valley (Fresno, CA) for 31 years. We grow a good deal of your food. I almost didn't respond to this because well, let's face it, the post was pretty idiotic. But I had other reasons to respond. Too many people on DU think exactly the same thing, though few would put it in writing so primitively. Allow me:

- I know LOTS and LOTS of farmers who are Democrats. LOTS of them. They don't hate welfare and yes, they accept tax breaks and price floors when the government is handing them out. Wouldn't you? Do you have any clue as to how expensive it is to run a farm? The costs are enormous. And I'm speaking of the family farm and yes, we still have them here. Not exclusively but they're here.

- I'm pretty sure arrogance within the farming community does not exceed that which is present in any other profession.

- They act like their product is important because it IS important. We have to eat, y'know?

- Is someone prohibiting other countries from growing food? I'm not sure if I understand your latest statement.

A couple of other things:

- The World Ag Fair just finished up here and reports were that the most visited exhibits were those dealing with organic farming and hydroponics.

- There are more and more farms turning into California Certified Organic Farms around here. Farmers know its the wave of the future and that massive amounts of fertilizer and other additives are not necessary to grow and maintain crops.

- Most farmers nowadays have B.A.'s & M.A.'s in one or more of the Agricultural Sciences. They are certainly not the ignorant country bumpkins they are too often portrayed here and elsewhere.

It is true that most of the farmers here are Republicans. But I have to say that Democrats have spent almost no time here to convince them otherwise. Instead, they're denigrated and condescended to. Most of these men and women are not hard-line politicos - they don't have the time. Most of them are just real, down-to-earth people who deserve respect.

[Nikia]

23. Although some farmers in Ohio, where I grew up, were conservative

In many senses of the word and voted for Republicans (I left in 1996 so it was before Bush II), they were very much against globalization. They were for "hometown" values and supportive of locally owned business. In the past election, they do vote for a Democratic senator and governor so they may have wised up that the Republicans really aren't their friends.
Personally though, I think that the United States does have a strong security interest in growing food in the United States. Food is what we live on and takes months to grow. It is also continuously consumed by every person, every day. If large amounts of farmland is converted to other uses, aside from naturual succession in some areas, it will be difficult to convert it back. We have to be prepared to abandon globalization if necessary, be it because of hostile foreign relations or just the cost of oversees transportation. We need food more than other products.