Letters to the Editor

Letters may be emailed to edit@dtn.com or mailed to Greg Horstmeier, 9110 West Dodge Road, Omaha, NE 68114.

Editor,

I am a farmer and subscriber to DTN.

I farm in South Dakota and am not seeing the farm economic problems on my farm.

The problem with the farm economy is the government. Farm programs and cheap crop insurance have created the low markets. ARC payments are paid on corn base acres. A farmer is not forced to plant corn but are promoted to through government payments to create over production.

I have diversified to small grains to farm for a profit and have a 3-crop rotation to build soil and save money on expensive GMO traits.

There is risk management tool available to the farmer called the CME group. Farmers in general are poor business managers because of government safety nets.

There is an emotion called greed that has gotten most farmers into trouble. Paying high cash rent for land just to farm more is not a reason for farmers to have a government safety net.

Carl Eliason

Renner, SD

(CZ)

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