Fella's, what do you think.....

[Delta Duck]

I've got it figured out To Hammer, Deadeye, and GulfCoast and any other non farmer that is getting ripped off. What yall need to do is start farming, get on that gravy train. All it takes is a Gov't check!! Be sure to get some of that land that never should have been cleared 40 years ago. Just think you would get a check from the Gov't and would have your own duck hole.

Hell it ain't nothing to it, just put the seed in the ground, maybe spray, cut or pick your crop and get that big ole fat check

How can you go wrong!!

I think I'm going to try it one more year

[Delta Duck]

Yea one more thing, you get to knock off during the winter and get to hunt all the time

[Nitro Mag]

Thank you, Insider. It is very possible to make 55-65 bu/acre on good irrigated land with good drainage.

[Delta Duck]

On land formed land you had better make 50 plus beans

[LabLuvR]

I know as an outastater I am stickin my nose here where it don't belong, but by God I wished I lived in the Delta!!!! I grew up in the country here in good ol SC, fishin, hunting and having a grand ol time. At some point in time someone thought we needed something call economic development. HMMMMMM??? Well brother it came! Crime came, loss of farms came, a change in the community came, higher, taxes came forcing some to sell of family land that had been held for generations, hunting lands were lost, traffic increased tremendously and on and on and on. Be careful my friends about what you think would be of benefit. The outcome ain't near as rosy as some may think. After a quick trip through ya'lls Delta region this year, I promise I would move there in a split second if the wifey would go! I know some things may be hard, but by God you have in some ways the finest lifestyles available! To all you farmers I saw the huge fields and the work it must take! Thanks for what you do! It sure makes my meal taste a lot better at night after having seen that!!

[Insider]

All good points, LabLuvR. The MS Delta is about to get the cure for all of its problems, I-69.

Just think about all the good things Nissan is bringing to MS I can't wait for the longer waits in traffic, less room in the landfill, more concrete, increased price in land/homes, the loss of wildlife habitat, that brown liquid oozing into that stream, etc. There will be people making money all from this economic development. Economic development that our Delta people should have. Come on I-69! Maybe Hammer's great, great grand papa from Clarksdale that used to hunt on Beaver Dam Lake with Nash Buckingham will be proud the "armpit" is being saved. Maybe, just maybe, those farmers hat bills will flatten back out from not looking in the mail box for that gov. check so much

[Insider]

Land formed land is spreading out and South. There was a lot of dirt being moved up until today's rain. Seems like the farmers I've talked to have been averaging 62-63 bu/acre soybeans on land formed ground. Heck, even I might could make crop on the right ground

I better not try it on second thought. I would hate to be still getting my crops out like the two cotton farmers were this past Monday and Tuesday or like that combine that was still trying to cut beans on 1/9/03. I always heard the sure fire way to make a small fortune was to start farming with a large fortune.

[torch]

Insider the reason you see so much dirt work going on is because the new farm bill. Farmers can level land now and the Government will pay 70%. It is a good deal for all because of the water conservation and of course a new place to duck hunt.

[Hammer]

My numbers are a little old (2000 Delta Agricultural Digest) but they are close enough...See pages 143 and 144...

Direct Expenses, Round Up Ready= $87...Add Fixed Expenses of $26 per acre= $113/acre total production cost for Round Up Ready....At 40 bushels/acre and $5 beans, gross sales are $200 per acre less $113/acre= $87/acre in gross profit....Own your land and that is not bad money...Rent your land and you are working for the landowner, not yourself...That was as true in the 1800s as it is today...

So any yield above 40 bushels and Delta farmers are making big dollars and dont need the new soybean subsidy....Even at $4 bushel, which is a very low price historically, your gross profits would be $47/acre based on 40 bushel yields....Farm 1000 acres of beans, own your own land and $87,000 at $5/bushel and $47,000 at $4/bushel on 1000 acres of bean is not bad money....It is not untrue to say that you could farm 1000 acres of beans on the weekends and run another business during the week...Not to mention hunting leases on the 1000 acres...

It is also not untrue to say that just like oil well drilling, that there are many wealthy investors whom need tax write-offs and are willing to lose money for years in exchange for the chance to hit a really big lick...For example, the average oil well costs about $1MM to drill...10 investors at $100K each is not big money to lawyers, doctors, businessmen...They lose the $100K most wells and that helps them on their taxes...But every once in awhile the well hits and at 200 barrels a day and $40/barrel, it dont take long to recoup the loss...That would be $8000 a day/10 = $800 day per investor...

How many farmers do you know whom are out prospecting for investors?
Investors whom are perfectly willing to lose money for years for the chance to hit the big lick when cotton or bean or corn prices and yields and OPTIONS/FUTURES markets line-up and a killing can be made in farming? PLus have a place to hunt? Plus some equity in the land?

The point is this: Most Delta farmers would rather piss and moan about their plight rather than get creative in dealing with the REALITY of their situation...As Greenhead 22 and others have documented, they also are prone to lie about their yields, costs, incomes, etc than tell the truth...And they can be completely ridiculous when it comes to duck leases...All of this has been documented on this message board by numwerous others, not just me...

I suspect this is because they dont want the GOVT Gravy Train to stop and the more they complain the more they think people believe them...Sorry boys- the gig is up! The Environmental Working Group website blew your cover...

The truth is that the average yield on soybeans in the MS Delta is less than 40 bushels per acre...Even then, if Midwestern farmers spend the same money improving their land (fertilizer, tilth, irrigation, etc) that Delta farmers spend leveling and irrigating, the Midwestern farmer yields will ALWAYS beat the Delta farmer...THAT IS REALITY...The Midwetern farmers have a strategic advantage in growing soybeans, wheat and corn just like the Delta has a strategic advantage growing cotton and rice...

THE PROBLEM WITH THE DELTA IS THAT MANY FOLKS THERE DONT WANT TO LIVE IN REALITY...THE REALITY IS THAT THERE IS TOO MUCH LAND BEING FARMED BY TOO MANY FARMERS...THE SMALL FARMERS THAT DONT OWN THEIR OWN LAND NEED TO FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO...
I SUGGEST TIMBER AND WILDLIFE BASED TOURISM...JUST LIKE BUGGY WHEEL MANUFACTURERS HAD TO FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO, SO DO SMALL FARMERS WITH NO CAPITAL AND BAD LAND...NOT ALL FARMERS ARE THE SAME, NOT ALL LAND IS THE SAME...GOOD FARMERS FARMING GOOD LAND MAKE GOOD MONEY...THAT IS REALITY...

Hammer's job is to call your BS...Hopefully in a good natured way but if you get POed that is your problem...If I can open the eyes of just one more Delta farmer to the REALITY of the situation, I have done my job...Incidentally, I am in the process of developing business plans for 3 Delta based businesses...Based on my track record in other businesses, these businesses will be successful, maybe big money, maybe not, but they will be profitable...Nobody in the Delta is doing anything like what I will do...Once I have set these businesses up and they are successful,
I will then have more than LOGIC on my side in our discussions...I will have PROVEN that a new approach is not only ENVIRONMENTALLY advantageous but also ECONOMICALLY profitable...Stay tuned.

HAMMER

PS The average sheet and rill erosion rate on Delta soils is 4.9 tons per acre per year...Makes a lot of sense to spend $100/acre per year or more on chemicals, fertilizers, etc and have all that money wash off into the nearby slough, bayou or river?

[Nitro Mag]

Hammer, the Delta Ag Digest does not include equipment payments, insurance, wages, irrigation costs and probably a few other things in their estimates. If you think I am lying saying 55-65 averages then why don't you give Allen Blaine, MS State Soybean Specialist a call and ask him about yields on irrigated soybeans in the MS delta. Might even want to ask for a copy for the book on budgets written by the MSU ag extension staff.

[gadwall2]

I can't wait for the day when folks go to the friggin grocery store to buy a loaf of bread and gallon of milk and have to pay $5 for the bread and $10 for the milk. The damn tunes will change then.

A lot of folks take for granted that the US has the cheapest and safest food supply in the world. Instead of being thankful, they say the farmers are making to much money(HA!), the gov't gives the farmer to much, farmers only work half the year, They shouldn't use that chemical or that fertilizer, the smell of those animals or that chemical offends me (even though I live in the city). IT IS ALL IGNORANCE!

Ignorant: 1) w/out education or knowledge 2) exhibiting lack of education or knowledge 3) Unaware or uninformed

There is a lot of ignorance displayed by a lot of people talking about farming.( If I have offended some people by calling them ignorant, tuff $#!+, I help feed your ignorant ass)

This country has enough food for 11 days if all food production were to stop. Hammer says there are to many people farming, lets convince all of the small guys to stop. Economics ain't nothing but supply and demand. You cut the # of farms down and the amount of crops, food, etc.. will also decrease. When food supplys drop, then they are not as available as before throwing demand up. Which in turn leads to higher prices in the grocery stores(which is where most people think food comes from anyway).

Granted there are some bad apples out there. It only takes one "insurance farmer" to make all farmers look bad. But the vast majority of the farmers are good people.

Don't go flaming about farmers and coming up with crazy theories just because you are pissed about the prices of duck leases.

[Delta Duck]

Hammer,

You need to jump on it Sounds like you have it figured out. Get you that 1000 ac of beans and do it on the weekend. It ain't nothing to it, like you said. Damn farmers just want to bitch and moan

Show us how it is done
After you go broke then you might could get a job as an agriculture consultant

[Unlucky Ducky]

This is getting better every time I read it.

Let's see who's next......Oh yeah, Hammer, its your turn.

[Hammer]

A- The average soybean acre in the Delta is not irrigated, not even close...I'd bet that less than 10% of the beans grown in the Delta are irrigated and all irrigation is not created equal...There is Cadillac, leveled land with major improvements irrigation and then there is throw a levee around your field in June and put out polypipe irrigation...

Bottomline is that the Delta has no strategic advantage in growing soybeans versus MidWest or parts of South America where they get two crops of beans to every one crop we get...Just like the US makes steel and trades it for oil in the Middle East where they have no steel, other countries can grow our food cheaper and then we can trade them for it...In case you havent noticed, that is what GATT, NAFTA and other trade agreements are doing...YOu might not like it but that is the long and short of it...And just like oil from the Middle East, if our trade partners got stupid and tried to starve us out, we would bust them in the mouth...
Ever wonder why there is not a subsidy program for tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes, bannanas, oranges, etc? Why can those farmers farm without subsidies?

B- I am not so silly as to suggest that I can grow 1000 acres of beans and handle my other business...However, I've got my eye on 40 acres of bean ground and believe I can farm it real cheap and real ugly and make about $100/acre on it in cash flow plus tax advantages make this attractive....

I've got a buddy in Lonoke, ARK who buys nothing but used equipment, farms ugly as hell and makes pretty good money every year by staying small and having other business interests to focus on....when farming goes bad, he leases his land out...

C- I kill 9-10 deer per year, bucnhes of doves and ducks, a few quail and woodcock and 2-3 turkeys per year so I dont buy meat at the grocery...
I grow tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, okra and other veggies in my garden so I dont buy much of that at the grocery either...If I wanted to,
I could live off the land and never, ever go to the grocery store so dont talk that smack to me...Besides other than a few sweet taters, I aint seen many veggies, fruits, nuts, etc grown in the Delta...

Dont think this is so far-fetched...An old buddy of mine was a stockbroker in Jackson, then he lived in a cabin near Thornton with no electricity or city water, then he moved to Alaska with his 3 girls and his wife where they live 50 miles from the nearest road...He is a trapper and doesnt have to worry about crackheads stealing his stuff...


As for the ag consultant smack, that was funny!

HAMMER

[Unlucky Ducky]

Delta Duck, gadwall2, Nitro Mag........Your turn ! ! !

I'm learning a lot here, from both sides, keep it going, I haven't made up my mind who I agree with most. Both sides are making excellent points.