Harvesting in a trade war: U.S. crops rot as storage costs soar
Source: Reuters
NOVEMBER 21, 2018 / 1:07 AM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Mark Weinraub, P.J. Huffstutter
6 MIN READ
(Reuters) - U.S. farmers finishing their harvests are facing a big problem - where to put the mountain of grain they cannot sell to Chinese buyers.
For Louisiana farmer Richard Fontenot and his neighbors, the solution was a costly one: Let the crops rot. Fontenot plowed under 1,000 of his 1,700 soybean acres this fall, chopping plants into the dirt instead of harvesting more than $300,000 worth of beans.
His beans were damaged by bad weather, made worse by a wet harvest. Normally, he could sell them anyway to a local elevator - giant silos usually run by international grains merchants that store grain. But this year they arent buying as much damaged grain. The elevators are already chock full.
No one wants them, Fontenot said in a telephone interview. As he spoke, he drove his tractor across a soybean field, tilling under his crop. I dont know what else to do.
Read more: https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-grains/harvesting-in-a-trade-war-u-s-crops-rot-as-storage-costs-soar-idUKKCN1NQ0GA
sakabatou
(42,134 posts)until the trade war ends. I hope the prices get better when the war ends.
olegramps
(8,200 posts)violetpastille
(1,483 posts)If the farmers are in debt, they can't buy my products or yours.
dem in texas
(2,673 posts)The soybean farmers will come in from the fields, plop down in their recliners and turn on Fox News which fills their heads with right wing gibberish. I know: I have republican righty farmers in my family and they will vote Repub till they die!
UpInArms
(51,279 posts)am surrounded by these right wing socialist farmers
BigmanPigman
(51,563 posts)paleotn
(17,876 posts)IronLionZion
(45,380 posts)I worry about any farmers still supporting Dolt 45.
louis c
(8,652 posts)...my heart bleeds.
Turbineguy
(37,285 posts)Of course, some of us could tell that trump was unfit and others couldn't.
louis c
(8,652 posts)Let me tell you a true story. A well educated Director of a non-profit that I am a member of the Board of Directors on, voted for Trump in 2016. I told him he would be sorry and broke his balls every time a Trump decision hurt our organization. Finally, he apologized to me for voting for Trump and asked what it would take to get me to stop breaking his balls about his vote. I said I would only accept his apology if he put the apology on the same face book page he placed his support for Trump on in 2016 and admitting his mistake. He did that and now we are good.
The farmers have to do the same thing for me to have sympathy for their plight. They have to publicly renounce their support of Trump. If not, I really don't give a fuck if they lose everything.
dbackjon
(6,578 posts)Anyone connected to a REAL non-profit that votes GOP is cutting their own throat.
louis c
(8,652 posts)...and although I always vote a straight Democratic ticket all the time for every office, our origination has done pretty well getting state funding during the Baker administration. I know I wouldn't be able to extract that kind of commitment from our Executive Director.
It's a 21 member board encompassing 3 small cities with a combined population of about 125,000 people. We provide day care services, early childhood education, fuel assistance, weatherization, job training, temporary housing, substance abuse counseling and rehab as well as other such services. Our operating budget is $14 million a year and there is one union board member's seat set aside for an AFL-CIO appointed (unpaid) person. That's me. We meet once a month for about 2 hours, so it is part of my workday.
Union's encourage their officers to participate in these organizations so we can give back to the community. I've served on this board for about 8 years and the union I work for has made some substantial contributions to this non-profit.
Oneironaut
(5,479 posts)They will never learn. That would mean renouncing the Dear Leader. There will always be a line of excuses and apologia by them.
violetpastille
(1,483 posts)paleotn
(17,876 posts)Its their fault. They bought it, they own it.
duforsure
(11,884 posts)For trusting a con man, and his policies from him and the gop, or not , then suffer more like all his supporters will soon be facing as their economy , health care, and jobs go south from trump's tariffs,and they will.
Turbineguy
(37,285 posts)can buy them up cheap.
politicaljunkie41910
(3,335 posts)Joe Biden approach and have some compassion for those farmers and all those other people who filled stadiums chanting, "Lock her up" when they finally come to the realization that they were conned. For many this won't be easy. These people many of whom will have lost everything will know in the end that Trump was a charlatan who lied about everything, to everybody, and that's what a conman does. We need to show them why Democrats are different. For NOW, Dems need to cut out the infighting and throw their support behind Pelosi so we look, walk and talk, like an organized party who knows how to lead when given the opportunity by voters; not just how to squabble.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)To people like this in the form if the policies we enact, which will benefit them. There will be no penalty from us. But I have no problem shaming them for their stupidity. At some point they need to snap out of the coma of ignorance in which they live, which is putting us all in danger as a country and as a planet. If we make it too easy for them to wash their hands of this mess they've created we'll be right back here again in 10 to 15 years.
Botany
(70,442 posts)n/t
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)This is all on the deplorable repubs.
33taw
(2,435 posts)flibbitygiblets
(7,220 posts)What do we have to do, send someone dressed up as Jeebus to smack these people upside the head and say "smarten up, idiot!!"?
33taw
(2,435 posts).away all their hunting rifles.
flibbitygiblets
(7,220 posts)Good thing we got all that extra money from those massive tax cuts...oh right...
33taw
(2,435 posts)They have no clue that the republicans dont give a rats ass about them. The impact of tarriffs and corporate deals have a huge impact on them, but all they see is gun and abortion rights. Grrr....
The Liberal Lion
(1,414 posts)or imagine how many countries to which we could donate that grain
Roy Rolling
(6,906 posts)Surprising a New York City apartment-dweller knows so little about farming.
hibbing
(10,094 posts)I'm old enough to remember when we actually had some Democratic senators and a governor. Those days are long gone and our legislature is becoming more right wing with each session. I saw a map of the voting for the expansion of Medicaid. Omaha and Lincoln yes, the rest of the state a solid no. The rural/urban divide is getting worse everywhere.
Peace
louis c
(8,652 posts)...yet they vote "racist first".
hibbing
(10,094 posts)But only because the populations in the two cities voted so overwhelmingly in favor of it.
Peace
louis c
(8,652 posts)...yet when they participate, they'll never give the credit to the people who created it and protected it. Just like Social Security and Medicare.
safeinOhio
(32,632 posts)know if the price of tofu has seen a big drop?
CrispyQ
(36,413 posts)$1.79 for a one pound block. Eighteen months ago it was $1.29.
But that seems to always happen. When some ingredient goes up, so does everything it's in, but when it goes back down, the products stay the same price.
violetpastille
(1,483 posts)And remains steady but that tofu is organic and non-GMO.
They can't use the soybeans meant for Chinese livestock for tofu. It's not healthful for humans.
safeinOhio
(32,632 posts)anything made of soy, except soy sauce. Not good for men.
violetpastille
(1,483 posts)I love soy, but not for my husband.
(I try to keep the house artificially fragrance free for him too. Gonna start making my own laundry detergent.
The hormone thing with soy has been proven a myth for a while now.
safeinOhio
(32,632 posts)lying again
I'm not taking any chances with my hormones.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,131 posts)And a lot of people have thyroid problems.
CrispyQ
(36,413 posts)Some of these markets took years to build & Trump just took a sledgehammer to them. A lot of the smaller farms will never recover from this. Maybe some big agra company can come in & buy them all up at fire sale prices.
But her emails. Not a lot of sympathy for those who voted for Trump.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,131 posts)BumRushDaShow
(128,372 posts)Richard Fontenot from Ville Platte, LA where -
<...>
The district went for President Trump, a Republican, in 2016 by a margin of 24 points. Trump won Louisiana by 19.6 points.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/election-results/louisiana-4th-congressional-district/?utm_term=.258df4753b14
and -
Most years, the building protects farm equipment and bags of seed. Now, it is stuffed with 75,000 bushels of corn. Like others, Honselman is banking on a resolution to the trade war before this spring - when he says he will need the space back for his planting supplies.
Casey, IL (where Honselman lives) is in IL-15 where -
<...>
The district went for President Trump, a Republican, in 2016 by a margin of 46.2 points. Democrat Hillary Clinton won Illinois by 16.9 points.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/election-results/illinois-15th-congressional-district/?utm_term=.e98895417de7
The opportunity to "do" something came and went a couple weeks ago.
CrispyQ
(36,413 posts)Dude! Trump has soured relations with everyone. They will buy corn from anyone but the USA if they can find it elsewhere. Also, your petulant child-president will double down before he ever lets up on his trade war. Sell the farm now, while you can still get a good price, move to a blue state, & join the human race.
haele
(12,635 posts)I may be a California City Grrrl who occasionally goes to farmer's markets, but I talk to the vendors, and my parents have stories about friends who with family farms and ranches during the 40's and 50's.
I have learned that if you grow a common commodity and have a bad year, forcing your buyers go somewhere else to buy their produce, they aren't coming back - primarily because the next year or so you're charging more to play "catch-up" on your debts. You won't be giving them a reason to come back the next year. Essentially, you have to build up your customer base back from scratch, and you're already starting behind every other seller in the market.
A resolution to the Trade War next spring won't help Mr. Honselman one bit. Without a lot of belt tighting, understanding creditors, and sheer dumb luck, he's probably going to have to sell acerage to keep from going under over the next five - ten years. Which affects his credit. If he isn't banking his own seed - if he's buying seed every year from Monsanto or ADM or some other mega-corp, he needs to start going back to college and learning a new skill, because his farm is done for.
The Trade War needed to be resolved back last June for him to be able to recover.
Haele
flibbitygiblets
(7,220 posts)some people are incapable of learning.
nykym
(3,063 posts)maybe you should vote for a Democrat.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)10 to 1 he votes GOP in 2020.
modrepub
(3,488 posts)Seen many fields of soy beans (yes I know what they look like) still sitting unharvested. Most of the other crops have been collected already (first snow last week). I'm assuming the farmers who own them aren't even bothering collecting them and will plow them under in the spring. What a waste.
sfwriter
(3,032 posts)I read that cold storage was maxed out, yet my price per pound does not reflect a glut.
cntrfthrs
(252 posts)cry me a river...... ...you all voted for that idiot...now take your medicine....
Stardust1
(123 posts)You wanna leave the Earth barren with your farming fertilizers then you get no sympathy.
Maxheader
(4,370 posts)I've frequented over time..And one in particular is pretty much spot on with
whats happening in the ag world..here in the usofa...
And they refute any storage problems, or for that matter that the subsidies
to offset the tariffs isn't working...
I think its a mix of positive and negative but be aware, please..there are two
sides to these things..
Be glad to hear from farmers that disagree...
truthisfreedom
(23,138 posts)of doing business
paleotn
(17,876 posts)Stop voting for morons. Voting for anyone but shitler would have been far better for Fontenot. I have zero sympathy
Cold War Spook
(1,279 posts)I guess they didn't bother to ride through Eastern NC. Maybe they can't tell the difference between soybeans and empty fields.