Shutdown spawns vacuum in farm market information; halts government farm payments
Source: Associated Press
Shutdown spawns vacuum in farm market information; halts government farm payments
By Associated Press, Updated: Monday, October 7, 1:13 AM
WICHITA, Kan. — When Tim Peterson finished planting his 900 acres of winter wheat last week, the usually market-savvy Kansas farmer unexpectedly found himself struggling to make critical marketing decisions without being able to access to vital agricultural reports, casualties of the federal government shutdown.
“We have no clue what is going on in the market,” said Peterson, who farms near Monument in northwest Kansas. He typically protects his investment in seed and fertilizer by “locking in” the price his wheat crop will fetch next July with a futures contract, which shields farmers from market fluctuations by guaranteeing a price while the crop is in the ground.
Farmers and livestock producers use the reports put out by the National Agriculture Statistics Services to make decisions — such as how to price crops, which commodities to grow and when to sell them — as well as track cattle auction prices. Not only has the NASS stopped putting out new reports about demand and supply, exports and prices, but all websites with past information have been taken down.
“It is causing a direct void in information that is immediate,” Peterson said.
This worries him far more than his other problem: When will his $20,000 subsidy check from the government, which usually comes in October, arrive?
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/shutdown-spawns-vacuum-in-farm-market-information-halts-government-farm-payments/2013/10/07/29606c86-2f15-11e3-9ddd-bdd3022f66ee_story.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
...shucks! Maybe he should call his Congresscritter Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-HostageTaker). I'm sure he'll have a lot good ideas.
- Maybe he should try ''negotiating'' with his winter wheat. You know, hold it hostage in the ground until it gives him what he wants.....
K&R
