[Terrapreta] Carbon tax

[Gerald Van Koeverden]

On 19-Apr-08, at 9:57 AM, Jim Joyner wrote:
>
> I grew up in south and west Texas. Early on, under the Carter  
> administration the processing sheds and a few large citrus farms we  
> bought. The USDA created a market order that forced all citrus  
> farmers to process their fruit through the sheds and receive what  
> the sheds paid. Well, the same companies that owned the sheds then  
> sold to themselves from the farms they owned. They established the  
> "market price" essentially at their cost -- thus operating the  
> farms at break even, making their profits in the sheds. Of course,  
> this made it impossible for the independent farmers to make a  
> profit.  The farmers were left with two choices: sell their land to  
> the AG companies or to housing developers. But there are virtually  
> no farmers there any more.
>>>
The same trends are evident in Canada.  For an overview on the  
difference between what a Canadian farmer gets for his produce and  
what it is retailed for, check out the 2006 update on what started as  
a local member of parliament's study "Compare the share."  The only  
agricultural commodities where farmers can get a reliable return is  
for those that have earned political rights to organize into national  
farm marketing agencies: eggs, broilers and dairy.

http://www.stpeterscollege.ca/crse/pdf/compare_the_share.pdf

gerrit