Is it Worth Being a Farmer?

With food prices on the rise, one would think that these are good times for farmers but think again: fuel prices have gone up, so has fertilizer, herbicide and seeds amongst others things.

Saturday's Globe and Mail looked at who is responsible for the global food crisis and as part of the article, they including a flow chart that demonstrates some of the challenges a Canadian grain farmer faces to make a living. It looks a bit like a 'Snakes & Ladders' board game that pretty much screws the poor farmer unless he's extremely lucky which makes me wonder if it's even worth the time and effort to be a farmer nowadays. One can make as much money, if not more, by playing the futures and stock markets, without getting your hands dirty and taking on that much risk. With all the games being played on the markets by the big boys, you also have to wonder if this is all just part of a bigger plan to kick small farmers off their land so the huge corporations can take over and control the entire food market from end-to-end.

So if you ate today, thank a farmer!

And be sure to buy Canadian, if not locally-grown produce, to help your small, independent farmer continue the honourable tradition of growing food for generations to come.