Letters to the Editor

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To: Darin Newsom

Subject: Worthless corn - bean

I follow your column (Newsom on the Market) and find it interesting and on target. Now with this last one I have a small problem (ARC of Destruction).

For one thing, I am leaning toward not signing up for the new farm bill. From what I have been able to learn and work out, IT'S A LOSER. Too much paperwork and rules. Very little money. (I have my name with the rest of the guys at EWG.org.) I think going back to being a ghost is best.

So, yes, ARC will pay from one egghead's guess $30.00 to $90.00 [per] acre. Add to that the harvest price of $2.50 this fall. I can see that even my math doesn't work. That little amount of money from ARC or PLC isn't even a good down payment on the seed corn to get us to the 16 billion bushel crop.

Now here is where it gets interesting. You now have all of these large farms 1,000 acres and up. They have all of these bins full of gold, but the market is telling them that they were fools for growing [it]. Because they can't afford the diesel fuel to haul it to market. In some places they can't haul it because the elevator is full because no one will buy it or get a train there to haul that worthless gold away.

My guess is -- and I do my surveys at 55 mph -- is that if you can get 70 million acres of corn in the ground next year [it] will take great effort and some "found" diesel fuel to get the big toys out one more time. Color me crazy but the guys around here really HATE it when I am right.

I am looking at the cracks already and saw more at Empire Farm Days. Sales people were hiding and not talking. The mood was dark. Those bins of gold could still be full of this year's crop next year.

I learned this lesson this last winter when I ran out of money. You cannot help anyone if you are too poor yourself. You just sit and wait.

I am a very small operator. I do other things off farm, but the big guys, they can't leave. If they do leave it is with ... auction and they are gone forever. That is way it has been around here all my life. Run out of money you are gone. Friends left before all that.

Keep up the good work. It is going to be one hell of a ride coming up.

Crawford McFetridge

Finger Lakes area

(ADG)