Agriculture committee  It just seems to me that we're a little bit behind the times. We seem to be bombarded in our area with recreational-type farmers. Now, in the early seventies, that was fine, because they bought 50 acres and they rented 48 of it back to you. So it was a good deal. Now they seem to buy 50 acres, put a $1.4 million house on it and a $2 million horse farm, and when you drive down the road with your equipment, they're waving hands at you wanting you to slow down, or they ride through your field when you're planting as if it's a given right.

Agriculture committee  Where we are in Middlesex Centre, the biggest growing cash crop is probably a horse, because I think there are more horse farms that have gone in around us than there are farmers. I don't know the last time I ate a horse. I'm not sure if I have or I haven't. But I eat at a lot of fast food restaurants, so I probably have.

Agriculture committee  My thought is that if we have crop insurance and a low-level subsidy to keep you in when commodity prices are low, we really don't need anything else.

Agriculture committee  Yes. I realize that probably government reacts with quick, short-term programs. I'm talking about a long-term stabilization type of program. I don't want to get rich out of it. I'm not interested in farming the government. I wish the market would take care of itself year after year, but when it doesn't, I think especially we need a low floor price for every commodity; I don't care whether it's corn or peppers or cattle or hogs.

Agriculture committee  Thank goodness for high equity. I'll say that.

Agriculture committee  What we're seeing is true. I really think high equity has carried a lot of us to this point. I thought when land got to $2,000 an acre it couldn't go any higher. I thought when it got to $6,000 an acre they were absolute fools. When it gets to $10,000 an acre you're thinking you should jump in because you can't lose.

Agriculture committee  I just don't think the young guys have.... It was probably the same for our generation too: a lot of debt can cripple you very quickly, especially when you're working in a low profit margin industry. The problem sometimes with government programs is that farmers farm the program; they don't farm the land.

Agriculture committee  I think what Greg said is true. If you went to university in the 1980s, what you learned then probably is of very little value to you now. I think for most of the guys here, if you're not innovative and going ahead, you're going behind. Agriculture doesn't sit still. I look at the things my kids can do that I still can't figure out.

Agriculture committee  I spoke a while ago to a group of teachers, and they were concerned about the quality of food and everything. They started kind of harassing farmers for using chemicals, or the whole list of environmental things. Finally I told the one lady that in this country you're more likely to die from eating too much than from chemicals and everything like that.

Agriculture committee  I think another problem that the banks have is having knowledgeable bankers. That's not to criticize them or anything, but often, with us, we'll start the year with one account manager, and by the end of the year we've switched to someone else. What these guys are saying is true: we seem to pay a premium for mortgage money and we are asked for more security all the time.

Agriculture committee  It wasn't as hard as we thought it would be, but they were willing to put the squeeze on it. Their complaints were that they had lost money and everything else in the stock market and they needed to make it back. My opinion was, well, you didn't lose money on me, so go after where you did lose it.

Agriculture committee  In the eighties we called it “COD”--call on Dad--if you got in trouble.

Agriculture committee  For Adam's generation, crop insurance and some of the programs the government has--those are well run and well needed. Don't change a lot of what's there now. Maybe they could use some fine-tuning, but.... Our opinion is that if we're probably stupid enough to spend $600 or $700 an acre to plant a crop to make $25 or $30 an acre, I think we'd better insure it.

Agriculture committee  That doesn't work anymore.

Agriculture committee  Adam and I are going to kind of tag-team here. I want to thank Bev for the opportunity to be here today. Just to give you a little background on who we are, we're a multi-generational farm, mostly cash crop. We're multiple partners. That may sound bad, but it's a good thing. So we're mostly cash crop but we also are a seed toller for a major seed company.