"Hamish Macbeth" wrote in message
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"Jim Webster" wrote in message
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except that when a population gets hungry, agriculture gets a different
priority to that it holds when they are full. The CAP was put into place
by a generation who had been hungry. It is being taken apart by baby
boomers who cannot even grasp the concept.



Presumably as China becomes more prosperous, 20% already carry a mobile
phone, they will import more of the world's production of food, forcing
the
price up.

Another parallel thread outlines that recycling of waste will form a major
part od food production, also increasing costs. Food as a percentage of
take home pay is probaly at an historic low, unlikely to continue.


China is the only country that is putting any real money into agriculture.
They are commited to being pretty much self supporting on agriculture. They
may choose to export cotton and buy grain but barring a natural catastrophy
they will try to be nuteral or a net exporter of ag products. Their
population is stable, their ag production incresing and the worlds biggest
irrigation project in the works. They don't look like a good customer to me.


The only winning statagy I see for the farmer is lowering the cost of
production. The politcal reality is that cheap food is the policy that has
been in place all my life and I expect it to remain for the rest of it. It
would be real nice if some other path was followed but no matter what
happens going for the lowest production cost works for the indivigul farmer
and he can't control anything else.

It is unfortunate that most of the world puts road blocks in the way that
keep farmers from lowering theirs costs.

Gordon