Florida tomato farmers are plowing under their vines

[cnm]

Can all farmers afford harvesting equipment that can cost half a million or more? Do you expect the price of those tools to drop like VCRs did?

Often growers hire contractors here. Sounds like the contractors there are losing their undocumented labour.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Yes, the rich corporate farms have that very expensive equipment, but most can't afford the $100,000 to $800,000 price tag plus the cost of those dump trucks.

They rent them. Along with the operators.

 

[cnm]

All farming today is equipment intensive.

If you're gonna farm commercially, you're going into debt for equipment.

I love generalities. Them equines cost a pretty penny all right.

 

[JimH52]

Anyone able to translate that?

Yes, he said, "I am a stupid Magat."

 

[jbrownson0831]

Yes, he said, "I am a stupid Magat."

Poor jimboliar......

 

[BULLDOG]

Why are we bothering to develop robots and clones if the Luddites want to keep picking fruit and vegetables by hand ?

Anyhow, ZPE will reduce prices hugely with zero energy costs and the geneticists need to develop Toms which grow on the fruit Espalier basis , " N" times easier and faster to pick .

I can think of a dozen other brilliant ideas including switching to Lavender or letting the price of Toms rise to the level they need to be when slave labour is withdrawn .

Nobody wants to keep doing it by hand. It's just the only practical way of doing it for now. In time newer more practical ways will be developed. We aren't there yet.

 

[SmokeALib]

Florida farmers now plowing over perfectly good tomatoes as Trump’s tariff policies cause prices to plummet

Deportations, cheap imports eat into profits.

www.yahoo.com

DiMare told WSVN 7 Miami that President Donald Trump’s tariff and immigration policies are driving farmers to abandon their crops.

In January, he warned that Trump’s crackdown on migrants would squeeze farmers, who rely on migrants to pick produce.

This is trump's economy. He is squeezing farmers and businesses two ways. His ICE masked squads are terrorizing their work force while his tariffs are destroying their business plans.

Lol Yahoo is leftist traitor trash.

 

[BULLDOG]

They rent them. Along with the operators.

that might work. The biggest problem I see with that is everybody's field will be ready at the same time. Will be a logistic nightmare.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Lol Yahoo is leftist traitor trash.

The photo isn't of " perfectly good tomatoes" Good grief, looks like a picked field being readied

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Hahaha, this "tomato farmer" is a corporation which farms 4,000 acres of tomatoes. They ranted and raged about Mexican imports of tomatoes.

/This one

 

[EvilCat Breath]

that might work. The biggest problem I see with that is everybody's field will be ready at the same time. Will be a logistic nightmare.

Well, no. For one thing a company doesn't have just one harvester and there is more than one company. Then, these mechanical harvesters are much faster. They don't take breaks, stop for lunch or go to the bathroom. They don't get injured and there's no workers compensation insurance. It is much much cheaper. I live in rural Idaho. The mechanical agri work is astounding. Weeding is done by a swarm of little robot welders. If you think that's a surprise, construction is even more changed. A big chip and data center is being built just outside of Boise. The construction crew is one guy. One guy and a 3d printer.

Our need for unskilled labor is going the way of the buggy whip.

 

[Missourian]

I love generalities. Them equines cost a pretty penny all right.

That's not commercial farming.

 

[cnm]

That's not commercial farming.

Sure. Pure subsistence. After all...

All farming today is equipment intensive.

But the Amish also recognize the need to generate income to pay for expenses such as land, taxes, and healthcare. To meet these needs, they often sell surplus produce, handcrafted goods, and other products commercially (Sunarno et al., 2024). This commercial activity is typically conducted on a small scale, with a focus on quality and craftsmanship rather than mass production. They often sell their goods at local farmers’ markets, roadside stands, or through small-scale wholesale arrangements.​

Are Amish organic farmers (do Amish have modified farm produce)?

Explore the Amish community’s traditional farming practices, emphasizing sustainability, community support, and a deep faith connection to the land.

christianpure.com

​

 

[Missourian]

Sure. Pure subsistence. After all...

But the Amish also recognize the need to generate income to pay for expenses such as land, taxes, and healthcare. To meet these needs, they often sell surplus produce, handcrafted goods, and other products commercially (Sunarno et al., 2024). This commercial activity is typically conducted on a small scale, with a focus on quality and craftsmanship rather than mass production. They often sell their goods at local farmers’ markets, roadside stands, or through small-scale wholesale arrangements.​

Are Amish organic farmers (do Amish have modified farm produce)?

Explore the Amish community’s traditional farming practices, emphasizing sustainability, community support, and a deep faith connection to the land.

christianpure.com

​

I sell some eggs at the farmer's market.

That doesn't make me a commercial egg producer.

I actually live among the Amish and Mennonites. When they engage in commercial production, they buy commercial equipment.

 

[cnm]

All farming today is equipment intensive.

 

[cnm]

That doesn't make me a commercial egg producer.

Yes it does. You give them away or barter them to not be commercial.

commercial​

​

related to making money by buying and selling things:​

 

[cnm]

that might work. The biggest problem I see with that is everybody's field will be ready at the same time. Will be a logistic nightmare.

Harvesting contractors follow the harvest season around properties as crops don't mature at exactly the same time over the whole country or area.

edit...Well that was the story when I was hiring them, I can't imagine efficiencies have changed in that time.

 

[jbrownson0831]

Yes, he said, "I am a stupid Magat."

You know, jimboliar, Jim Carey perfected this art of talking out your pelosi in one of his movies.....

 

[Oddball]