Eye Forget

WSJ: Glory Days Fade for U.S. Farmers

Here's a different take. The farmers are responsible for much of this problem.

We split our time between Europe (Switzerland) and the US. Here's some observations:
- ever see much prime beef in US supermarkets anymore?
- US beef used to be a selling point on European restaurant menus. Now its virtually non-existent. Its priced the same or less at retail.
- US produce does not even resemble what produce tastes like.
- US pork has a natural growing market in the far-east yet its considered too low in quality to sell at anything other than a major discount.

US farmers fell in love with mass production. Feed them fast, feed them cheap, transport them in deplorable conditions (a significant impact on the quality of meat is stress level) and respond to whatever prices supermarkets dictate.

A dependence on chemical fertilizers and a poor distribution strategy aimed at providing Americans with "choice and price" rather than something that tastes like food drives this industry. Hopefully tomatoes can be used for ethanol production as they're not much good for anything else.

Like the auto business, US farmers have placed themselves at the lowest margin end of the business. And, like the auto business, its a dillema of their own making.

They know it. Go on ag forums and read the discussions. These are smart businessmen and the discussions are quite frank. They simply have to find the cojones to redirect their business model or face a slow creep towards obsolescence.

"Value". This country is going to "value" itself into extinction.