Farming is Agribusiness

Originally Posted by Patt

I have no idea what your point is here?

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

Even though no single entity may be over a million acres collectively they do. Besides your statistics are inaccurate. The ultimate Ownership of lots of places are hidden. A company that owns 10 companies each with a half million acres would show up as owning none while in reality it owned 5 million

Originally Posted by Paquebot

What we've managed to do here is confirm that it's useless to look for that big multimillion acre ag company. That disappoints me since I would have loved to know how such an operation could be managed.

TRUE

We've also confirmed that forestry and agriculture are two separate fields. Using the word "farm" as a means of justifying calling both "agribusiness" is no less wrong than including tank farms, wind farms, and worm farms as part of agribusiness.

FALSE

And we've confirmed what monoculture is in both agriculture and forestry and that most here SHOULD know the difference.

FALSE

The only thing not confirmed is exactly what agribusiness constitutes since I've never heard any two definitions which agree.

Martin

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

Besides your statistics are inaccurate.

Originally Posted by Paquebot

What we've managed to do here is confirm that it's useless to look for that big multimillion acre ag company. That disappoints me since I would have loved to know how such an operation could be managed.

We've also confirmed that forestry and agriculture are two separate fields. Using the word "farm" as a means of justifying calling both "agribusiness" is no less wrong than including tank farms, wind farms, and worm farms as part of agribusiness.

And we've confirmed what monoculture is in both agriculture and forestry and that most here SHOULD know the difference.

The only thing not confirmed is exactly what agribusiness constitutes since I've never heard any two definitions which agree.

Martin

Originally Posted by Patt

Ok your first sentence explains a lot. Thanks.

So according to you everyone with the title of tree farm on their land needs to change it correct? Maybe you can define farm for us please? Worms and trees don't count I take it, so what makes a farm?

Originally Posted by Paquebot

Now if you can come up with a company which owns 10 other companies with 500,000 acres each, I think that we'd all be interested in finding that out as well. Fact or fantasy?

Martin

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

My point is that you wont be able to find these companies.

Originally Posted by Paquebot

If you are impressed with figures, you might want to know where the 10 biggest North American landowners are and what they do. Discounting, of course, the 624,000,000 acres owned by the US Government.

#1, Ted Turner in 10 states
#2, Canada, 1,600,000, timber
#3, CA, 1,500,000, timber
#4, CA/NM, 1,200,000, cattle
#5, ME, 960,000, timber
#6, TX, 900,000, cattle
#7, WA, 770,000, timber
#8, OR, 750,000, timber
#9, FL, 640,000, cattle & citrus
#10, TX, 560,000, cattle

Martin

Originally Posted by bumpus

.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agribusiness

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

I often see posts which lead me to believe that many don't like the term agribusiness nor really think of farming as a true business.

There is a business in Kansas that is associated with Kansas State University that is called Kansas Farm Management Association. They don't manage farms, but they do provide a service which gives up to the minute information, book auditing, tax preparation, etc. for farms that choose to join. Most generally those that join tend to have pretty much average sized farm, at least from my past experience having used their services in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Having said that here is a newspaper blurb today giving some of the report for the year of 2007. With nearly record wheat yields in western Kansas and near record prices those figures somewhat offset the crops in other areas that weren't even harvested due to late freeze, etc.

My point is for you to look at the amount of money the average farm handled and you will see that farming is indeed a business, i.e. agribusiness. Well if I handled a half million per year I would sure want to do it business like. The farms are probably about 2,000 acres or less. Remember too that in Kansas much of the land has to be fallowed in order to gain enough moisture for a crop, meaning that there isn't a crop on the land every year and some of the acreage would be pasture land with a low stocking rate. We figured 8 acres per cow/calf pair for the county I used to live in.

The average value of farm production among its members statewide last year was pegged at $407,787, with average farm expenses of $292,752. The average government payment per farm was $24,000

http://www.hutchnews.com/Todaystop/farmincome

The net incomes look good per farm until you factor in all of the hours the farmer and family actually worked.

Yes, farming is indeed agribusiness. Also remember that expenses don't stop if there is a crop failure.

Originally Posted by Paquebot

You're not going to find them since they don't exist. Every square inch of land on this continent is owned and there's a record of it and who owns it. And anything that big is a little difficult to hide!

Martin

Originally Posted by Patt

Thanks! So what if we use the term corporate farming vs. family farming? That may be more understandable than agri-business that covers everything from farms to John Deere to the local feedstore.

Originally Posted by Jennifer L.

Martin, I think fantasymaker means that Corporation A can own Corporation B which owns Corporation C, and all three of those corporations can own land. On the title it will show Corporation A, B, or C, but in reality Corporation A own everything. So in fact Corportion A may own a whole lot more than it looks like on the deed.

Jennifer

Originally Posted by Paquebot

Corporate farming is often also family farming. Just saw one of the Baerwolf brothers at the local auto races Friday night. Both have their own separate farms but they've incorporated to sell their product. One of the herds is 400, one is 100. You decide if www.sassycowcreamery.com is a "lovable" family farm or a "hated" agribusiness.

Martin

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

I often see posts which lead me to believe that many don't like the term agribusiness nor really think of farming as a true business.

There is a business in Kansas that is associated with Kansas State University that is called Kansas Farm Management Association. They don't manage farms, but they do provide a service which gives up to the minute information, book auditing, tax preparation, etc. for farms that choose to join. Most generally those that join tend to have pretty much average sized farm, at least from my past experience having used their services in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Having said that here is a newspaper blurb today giving some of the report for the year of 2007. With nearly record wheat yields in western Kansas and near record prices those figures somewhat offset the crops in other areas that weren't even harvested due to late freeze, etc.

My point is for you to look at the amount of money the average farm handled and you will see that farming is indeed a business, i.e. agribusiness. Well if I handled a half million per year I would sure want to do it business like. The farms are probably about 2,000 acres or less. Remember too that in Kansas much of the land has to be fallowed in order to gain enough moisture for a crop, meaning that there isn't a crop on the land every year and some of the acreage would be pasture land with a low stocking rate. We figured 8 acres per cow/calf pair for the county I used to live in.

The average value of farm production among its members statewide last year was pegged at $407,787, with average farm expenses of $292,752. The average government payment per farm was $24,000

http://www.hutchnews.com/Todaystop/farmincome

The net incomes look good per farm until you factor in all of the hours the farmer and family actually worked.

Yes, farming is indeed agribusiness. Also remember that expenses don't stop if there is a crop failure.

Originally Posted by Patt

I would assume they incorporated so that they can run their own creamery because value added products are the only way to really make money on a smaller sustainable family farm.

Originally Posted by Paquebot

You're not going to find them since they don't exist. Every square inch of land on this continent is owned and there's a record of it and who owns it. And anything that big is a little difficult to hide!

Martin