Reply #49: Every prior generation

[Coyote_Bandit]

in my family - on both the maternal and paternal side - earned their livlihood from the land. They worked hard and did not live extravagently. And they did well financially.

Can't do that today. It is almost impossible to compete with the corporate farmers and ranchers. I know some folks that want to and are trying to do that very thing. I don't know how they get by. Most have high debt levels for their property and equipment. They are not insured or otherwise protected against risks (e.g., weather) they can't control. They work long hours and often they work 7 days a week. And they are poorly compensated. For example, I know a guy who produces organic eggs. He is paid two cents per egg - twenty-four cents per dozen - for eggs that sell in the store for about $4 per dozen. He easily works over 60 hours every week with rarely a day off. He has a wife and a couple of kids - none of whom have health insurance. And he probably ***grosses*** about $60,000 annually.

I was raised on a farm/ranch. We had dairy cattle, a small beef operation and we too produced eggs. I am very familiar with the work this fellow does. And I know that in the late 60's standard non-organic eggs were paid at a rate of one to one and a half cents per egg - 12 to 18 cents per dozen. Obviously, not much has trickled down to this fellow in the last 40 years other than increased production and consumer prices.