Profit and Words
by Ed Fashing in the Missouri Newsletter

What do you mean farmers don’t make money? According to the NFFC, 38 boxes of Corn Flakes @ $5 apiece come from a corn bushel of 56 lb. yielding farmers less than $3. Farmers and the government give corporate welfare to ADM, CARGILL, NCBA, factory farms, subsidized corporate businesses, and other greedy farmers’ enemies. Leo Hopper says there have been over 400 farmer suicides in Oklahoma; Mona Lee Brock says over 500 suicides. They work on farmers’ suicide lines at opposite sides of Oklahoma and are really too busy helping to count. In Kansas, there have been about 300 farmer suicides. Farmers living on a 4th generation family farm have that farm in their blood. Farmers and ranchers must get our message to the consumer, congress, labor, churches, media, and civic groups about the continuing crisis. Some farm organizations with leaders who have probably never had manure on their hands or blood on their shoes seem embarrassed we still use the terms, farm crisis and parity.

Profit

Of 15 farm commodities the average is 34.7%. Parity is a term used to describe the per cent of the price for a farm product adjusted for inflation that once brought a fair return when prices in most of the economy’s sectors were balanced from 1910-1914. The June parity prices for 15 commodities range from 15% for rice to 49% for oats. Median percent was 34% so the average of 34.7% is meaningful; the mode was 30% for corn, and wheat. Soybeans brought 34% of parity and cattle brought 40% of parity.

Of the $869.3 billion in the farm bill for 6 years, $626.8 billion is for food assistance, food stamps, and school lunches—or 72%. About another 4% goes to the U.S. Forest Service, part of the USDA; the Forest Service that turned on farmers and ranchers with econut extremist policies. Only about $230 billion goes to Ag spending over 6 years. So about 3/4 of the money does not go to farmers and indeed is at least partially used AGAINST family farmers and ranchers. I would estimate that a majority of Forest Service (under USDA Secretary Ann Veneman) and Bureau of Land Management (under the Secretary of Interior Gale Norton) workers follow their bosses every wish just to keep tranquility in their jobs or not getting moved to Isle Royal or Alaska. They may not realize essentially that they cannot be fired.