Chicken Farm Debt/US Ag.

[kadee79]

This article is pretty interesting and shows how many things can affect stocks now and in the future.  Might want to read it and file some of this info in your mental file box...for reference.

History has proven many times that carrying large amounts of debt in a fluctuating market creates a dangerous situation. But the production contract model used that is spreading globally in chicken and livestock farming is a sign that agriculture itself is changing, shifting farmers into an increasingly debt-dependent scenario.

We’re all familiar with the term “debt crisis.” It reminds us of mortgages going underwater as property values crashed, and it rocked the world economy only a few years ago. Fewer people know about the similar farm debt crisis of the 1980s. Farmers were encouraged to maximize their loan capacity to get the newest equipment and seize momentary high prices for agricultural products. The profitability in the markets didn’t last, and debt in agriculture reached an all time high of over $350 billion in 1981. Thousands of farmers found themselves underwater on their loans, in debt beyond the value of their assets. In just five years, between 1981 and 1986, more than 60,000 U.S. farmers lost their farm and were left homeless.

What many people might not realize is that many of these farmers that had never missed a single payment on their loans when they found themselves facing foreclosure, which was due to the fact that the value of their assets had dropped below the amount they owed on their loan, a situation called “non-monetary default.” The loan did not change, but the market and the value of their assets did.

Today, there are worrying signs that we may be headed for more trouble. According to the USDA, total U.S. farm debt surpassed $365 billion in 2016, beating the 1980s peak in terms of sheer volume. At the same time, the U.S. farming sector is in the third year of an economic downturn as a result of an over-supply of grain globally.

www.huffingtonpost.com/sally-lee2/chicken-farming-debt_b_11067304.html

[ModE98]

Food for thought.  Nice find, kadee. 

[kadee79]

The article caught my eye for a couple of reasons....

We have those big chicken houses all around us. There are at least 3 semis that go down our little country road every day delivering feed to those chicken houses. They don't bring the chicks in this way nor do they take the grown ones out for slaughter this way....they go a different route.

We have a chicken processing plant on the edge of town, BUT the hatchery and the feed mill are in the next county. All the trucks are registered in that other county so that county gets all the tax $$$ for road repairs while the trucks tear our roads to pieces in no time flat.

Also, earlier this spring, my DH & I drove from Tallahassee, Fl. to Gainesville, Fl. using some of the old 2 lane highways. There were numerous old chicken houses in various conditions of decay...they had evidently gone broke!  And it wasn't just one or two chicken farms it was more like 20-30 of them and they weren't all grouped together either...they were scattered all along that old highway.

The contracting chicken place here is Sanderson Farms.

[The Virginian]

    I don't know a lot about chicken farms but I do know there are a lot of them in South Georgia. Did the Bird Flu a year or two ago have anything with some of them being shut down? Not a business I would be comfortable in but I do hope to have a coup with a small number of chickens , hopefully soon.

[Ombud]

If you're doing it for eggs, DS gets 18 eggs a day from his 12 chickens (has those + 3 that turned out to be roosters)

Apparently need more than 2 goats for an adequate milk supply

[tyfighter3]

Ombud, your post reminds me of a joke.

The Farmer went out and bought him a young Rooster for his Hen house. Opened the door and tossed him in. Now when the young rooster got in there he saw a old rooster there. The old rooster came up to him and said that they could fight it out over the hens or they could have a 10 lap race around the hen house and the winner would have all of the hens. The young rooster thought about this and looked over the old rooster that could hardly walk and said yes. The old rooster had one of the hens to start the race, when she said go the old rooster took off flapping his wings and squaking like hell. The young rooster no matter what he could do just could not get in front of him. Around the 7 lap the door flew open with the farmer wondering what all of the noise was, saw what was going on and shot the young rooster dead. Went over and picked the young rooster up and said ( Another Queer One).

[The Virginian]

Tyfighter - That was funny ! That was one smart old Rooster !

[kadee79]

Sorry I hadn't been back to this thread.

No, the bird flue didn't hit the houses down here.  Those houses we saw in various stages of rot most likely went broke.  The fields around them weren't being tended either, like someone just walked away from the whole property and nothing had ever been done since then.

Virginian, if you are still serious about buying down in this area, I have a BIL who is a real estate agent here in town but can look for something for you in the area you want.  And I still don't like Waycross!  Valdosta is MUCH better with more things available and a lot better stores, etc.!  I also get the feeling that Waycross is more "clannish" while Valdosta is much more welcoming to out of towners and they likely have better schools and I know they have better football teams.
Send me a pm if you want my BIL's contact info.

And as for chicken coops at home...they are great as long as you protect them from both hawks & foxes down here.  Build a fence around the 'chicken yard' tall enough to stand under or stoop slightly.  Then cover it with either some type of netting or fishing line strung both ways so hawks can't get through it.  For foxes...put a barrier down into the ground around the bottom edge of you fence...some tin or some other material so they can't dig under it.  And take a look at "Backyard Chicken Forums", lots & lots of great info there. 
One thing a friend of mine in Fla. did...they built a poop box under their roost with an outside little door for scooping it out and they put down cheap vinyl floor covering on the floor so they can just hose it out.  I have a set of chicken nests (metal) that I would gladly sell to you...I think it's either 6 or 8 nest holes & 2 story with fold down step to get in.  You also need to find a source for straw for filling the nests.
Did you know that egg production goes down from about age 3 on with hens?...so plan on replacing your hens about that often and the old ones can go into the stew pot or do something else with them.  So don't get attached/make pets of them.  You don't need a rooster to get eggs, only if you want to have fertilized eggs for hatching.

[The Virginian]

Hi Kadee.

I just bought a 2 acre lot down there ( near Waycross, sorry) last week. It is in a small non HOA subdivision and I am currently talking to a couple of builders about building a home. We spent a week down there in late August and must have toured near 100 homes from Tifton to Waycross but my children and I could not agree on a home. We found a great one in Douglas Georgia but I was talked out of it when I was made aware of how bad the High School is there.

Anyway this lot is on a shared Pond and has a small lake on the of the side of the division and is beautiful. I don't think chickens are allowed ( maybe a couple)  and I know goats will not be but I do plan on planting some Fruit and Nut Trees ( Pecans) in the yard. I decided if I really want animals that bad there is enough land around there I could always pick up some nearby just for the purpose of animals but probably will never do it. My daughter and her husband have Ducks, Chickens, Turkeys and Rabbits and are getting a couple of goats so I'm sure I will be asked to take care of them on occasion. They have also volunteered a couple of Ducks for the Neighborhood but I told them I better hold off until I get to know the neighbors. Ducks look pretty on the pond but can also be a bit of a nuisance.

[countrygirl]

I think on those contracts they can just give them and pull them if they wish.

Of course if they do then the person raising them likely goes broke. I have

read stories of them causing it because there is such a huge investment to

start one.  Perhaps a producer went bankrupt taking it all down with him.

[kadee79]

Well, you will be quite a ways from me...draw a line between Valdosta & Albany and we are about in the middle....47 mi. ea. to Albany, Tifton or Valdosta for us if we use the back roads.

A couple of things to keep in mind when you build...where the water tables are in that area, most are pretty shallow around here...in other words, I personally would never build on a slab down here...up off the ground a ways.
Some other things to consider...we built ours with a wider than normal hallway, in case we need wheel chair access.  Our toilets are the tall ones, we installed a small (not commercial) handicapped wall helper in the master bath by the toilet as we built.  We have light switches at both ends of the hall, 3 entrance/exits to the lr and 2 ea. for the kitchen & dr.  The front of the house is situated so that ramps can be easily installed if necessary without much problem.  We dug out some so that we have a deep crawl space, easier if plumbing repairs or floor repairs are needed in the future.  We installed 5 lights down there with the switch just inside one of the scuttle holes (we have 2, one at each end of the house).  We also installed 5 lights in the attic which is tall enough for a 6'er to stand up in the middle...and we blocked off the lower sides with plastic stapled in place.  The switch for those lights is near the pull down stairs up high on the hall wall.  We also have a small attic fan to blows out to the south, the switch for it is inside our wall-in closet.  And if I had it to do over, we would have a bit bigger attic fan, it does help keep the costs down.  Our attic on that higher central portion is floored with5/8" plywood & that is over blown in rock wool insulation.  We have some of the lowest electric bills in our immediate area and we are all electric.  We have a heat pump...works great.
Make sure your water heater is accessible...if you drain it & clean it out once a yr., that will prolong it's life...a shop vac will work for that, a wet/dry one.
Don't know if you will be on city or well water, but we are on a well & have 2 filters...one next to the well pressure tank and one in the hose before water goes into the house pipes.  Those help a lot due to the minerals in the water here....turns white clothes yellow in the wash over time.
Glad you are in a non HOA, those things are a mess!

ETA...Our house is ranch style, 56' long....I forget how wide, but wider than a normal ranch....I wanted rooms big enough to move around in and not feel squeezed.

[The Virginian]

Hi Kadee, Thanks for the advice. Yes I have considered the fact that I am getting older and I watched my mother struggle with a home that wasn't suited for a wheel chair and even in my present home when my wife become wheel chair bound we had to remove a couple of doors to allow her access to things like the restroom and such. I am also making sure the bedroom is in the main level and that access to the home is not too steep.  I also am aware that I need to have a fairly maintenance free home going into the Golden years. That's one of the reason I decided to go ahead and build a brand new home. Hopefully it will be maintenance free for most of my life.

I had heard about how expensive electricity is in Georgia, at least double what I pay in Virginia but thanks for the advice on helping to hold down those costs. I plan on all LED lighting and have been researching other energy saving ideas as well as the insulation.

We will have a well. Is there a particular filter you recommend ? The water does have that Sulfur smell to it down there.

A lot to think about , many of which when you are younger you don't bother with.