Soon, some 50 different groups, claiming to represent farmers, will descend on Washington to lobby for a farm bill that will have a safety net to protect them all. Not one of the groups will say they must get more from the marketplace. They will have 50 different ways for the government to help them, but they won't do anything for themselves. Some farmers have turned to marketing clubs to help them farm the farm programs. They use marketing advisory services that will help them sell their grain for less than it costs to produce it and charge them for their poor advice.
Many people think value-added processing plants are the answer.
Only a few of these value-added plants still are operating and even the flagship plant of Dakota Growers has voted to allow cheaper Canadian durum to come into its plant so it can survive. Several years ago, one ship load of barley from France drove barley prices down significantly just because it sent the message that there was more cheap barley available. We also have the people think North Dakota doesn't have to depend on agriculture to have economic growth. They say the information technology is the answer. If that's the case, I hope the next time they are hungry, they try to eat a computer.