On 7/21/2011 2:47 PM, chaniarts wrote:
....

farmer's switched corn types to feed corn, making both of you right.
....

I don't believe that's so in any great acreage amounts (see other
response that I don't have actual production numbers in hand but the
areas that grow sweet corn aren't the areas that grow the large amounts
of field corn). If you have actual production acreage data that shows
otherwise, I'd like to see it.

OTOH, there has been some shifting of acres from beans and wheat, but
overall not huge amounts; in the few percentage points kinds of numbers,
not like in doubling or halving.

Again, individual growers are limited in what their production practices
will tolerate; they can't just willy-nilly shift acres for a multitude
of reasons including pest control (both plant and insect), ground
fertility and crop rotation, inputs availability and field preparation,
etc., etc., etc., ...

Despite the Green Acres appearances, farming is _not_ a vocation for the
unskilled any longer... And, producers aren't going to risk their
longer-term viability for one or two crop years; just ain't a'gonna'
happen. Many of these folks have been on the same ground for 100 or
more years in the family; they have very deep commitments and intentions
their heirs are going to be there for another 100 or so.

We're in a relatively recent area in the US; iff'en I can hang on for
another 3 years or so we'll be a "century farm", too...there are some
around who got started a few years ahead of granddad that have already
achieved that distinction. Of course, farther east (and west) they've
been there a long time already.

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