Now that we've addressed the problem...

I've been thinking all day about how we can add value to our commodities and hopefully keep prices up even as other parts of the world start to realize thier potential for production.

1. Put 20-40% ethanol into every gallon of gasoline while finding more efficient ways to produce it.

2. Put 60-80% soy diesel into every gallon of diesel fuel as we develop more efficient ways to produce it.

3. Put wind turbines on every acre of land(this would supplement income from the crops).

4. Legalize Hemp and create factories to process it into paper, fabric, manufactured lumber, insulation, beer, etc, etc

5. Build factories to make this biodegradable plastic from corn I used to hear so much about.

6. Add your solution here...

That dog won"t hunt.

Oh, and thanks for crapping on the last ten topics as well.

I hope everyone else can look past Tims post and my reply and come up with some viable ideas instead of having a crap slinging match.

you talk about a Dog that will not hunt...

Hemp and marijuana are related but so is sorghum and corn. The THC level in hemp is .005% what it is in Mary Jane. All it will give the smoker is a headache. Further, THC, the hallucigenic drug in Marijuana, is strongest in the female bud. Beings they're so closely related in species, they will pollinate each other much like rye and wheat can. When marijuana is planted in a field of hemp, they crosspollinate and greatly reduce the potency of the marijuana. Guys who grow the stuff in thier basement must eliminate male plants or risk losing thier crop.

In case someone missed why I brought up hemp - more acres of hemp, less acres of corn and soy. Diversification, ain't it grand? It won't offset the cotton growers as it can be used for paper and I have not heard of cotton being used as such.

Direct marketing, now thats a great idea. I engage in that myself but try getting a farmer in Kansas to sell his wheat to the locals in Kansas City or an Illinoisan to sell his corn in downtown Chicago... It's not viable for everyone but it is a solution for some.

Reducing inputs is a good idea but try telling the guy with 15000 acres of corn to rotary hoe, rotary hoe, cultivate, cultivate, cultivate, cultivate.

Substituting capital for labor works well...if you're in Brazil where the average guy works for 50 bucks a month. My last paycheck for two weeks labor running tractor was 1900 bucks after taxes.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't be picking apart your ideas. They really are good ideas, I'm just analyzing the best way I know how. Feel free to anayze mine the same way.

Your story holds as much water as your sales pitch on hemp, Cheech. John

Why am I getting so much flak? I think you're a smart guy, just with a different viewpoint. Have I somehow insulted your family name or something? Cut me some slack.