Florida Farmers Wasting Food!!!!!

[Acre of Blessings]

Wasting food this way should not be allowed!!!!! I agree with the person that said " I will never buy another Florida Strawberry again".

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-1574...3BHBvcwM0BHNlYwNjbGlwcwRzbGsDd2FzdGluZ3N0cmF3

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I'm sure there is a whole lot more to it than meets the eye. It's really a big complicated deal and the farmers aren't the only ones to blame. When a product is suddenly worth 75% less than expected some drastic measures probably must be employed. There also must be a lot of liability & insurance issues to consider before opening one's fields for public entry. That news story was presenting only one point of view, one that was chosen to attract the attention of the most viewers (because they have to turn a profit in their business too). Examine all sides of the story before you draw your conclusions.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Didn't see a thing about farmers or strawberrys on your link?

Third time I went to that link it played that story...If it was my farm an my crop I would plow it under before I would harvest it an sell it at a forth or what I needed out of it. I would rather use it to re-fertilize the field for the next crop than lose more money on it. It would take a person in the city to call a farmer greedy for trying to keep his far in the green.

What should the farmers do? Sell the crop for that price an go under? Next year they would have that many less farms an that many more people will starve.

 

[Rosalind]

It's sad, but the farmers can't sell a crop for less than the cost of picking it--they have to cut their losses so they can survive, like any business. Don't know what PYO insurance is like in Florida, but here in Massachusetts it is apparently not too bad: our fruit farms, even the fairly big ones, have at least a large portion of their operations as a PYO, and they sell for less than retail prices so it's a good way for working class folks to get good food. I think they find that they make more money selling direct to the public than supplying the retail market; around here you can sell for $1.50-2 per pound and that's much less than the retail prices. It would also be a great help if food could be easily processed by the same people who grow it (frozen strawberries, strawberry jam, strawberry ice cream....

), but the regulations on doing that are seriously nuts.

Same thing happened in the 1930s with farmers dumping crops while folks went hungry. I think farm subsidies & ag policy should go back to more like it was in the 1960s, pre-Earl Butz, for this reason.

 

[mamagardener]

I don't know how people expect them to sell their strawberries when people don't want to pay what they are worth. I would still be willing to pay the normal price for strawberries, I don't care that there's too many. People deserve to get paid a decent wage for their work.

 

[Katy]

We don't grow strawberries, we grow different grain crops, but I'd do the same thing as them if I was in their shoes. If it makes you mad then go offer them a fair price for what they're growing.....don't expect them to go further into the hole than most of we farmers already are. It's their crop and they can do anything they please with it. As far as allowing people on to their fields to pick I wouldn't touch the liabilty of that with a ten foot pole.

 

[farmerlor]

I don't know what plan it was, which president it was or how much it cost the taxpayers but when the government bought up surplus from the farmer and dispersed it to the needy it sure seemed to be a win-win situation for everyone. I remember the government cheese and peanut butter days. It can only be a good thing to save food from being wasted by giving it to those who need it most. The nice thing about the cheese and peanut butter (and wasn't there butter and some other stuff in there too?) program was that you didn't have to actually be on welfare to take advantage of the plan. So those who are too proud to actually ask for help could go to their local churches or city halls and get food for their kids.

 

[mamagardener]

I don't think many people really understand how hard farming is.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
That's for sure....they do not have a clue.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
no ma'am, I remember from bein a kid. Farming was morning till night work with us kids pitching in.