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| Economy |
| ‘We Can't Give Our Product Away’ - Farmers Toss Thousands Of Acres Of Fruits, Veggies As Sales Plummet |
| 2020-04-10 |
| [ZeroHedge] As some misguided liberals complain about fruits "left rotting on the trees" because Trump's immigration crackdown has left no undocumented migrants to pick the vegetables (a demonstrably false assumption), the Associated Press has offered an explanation for this phenomenon that also illustrates how disruptions in the businesses like the hospitality and food-service industry work their way through the supply chain, ultimately sticking farmers in the American Farm Belt with fields of vegetables that they can't sell, or even donate as local food pantries are now full-up with donations from restaurants. The AP started its story in Palmetto, Fla. a city in Manatee County on the Gulf Coast, where a farmer had dumped piles of zucchini and other fresh vegetables to rot. |
| Posted by:Clem |
| #18 But at 30 cents an egg, they just keep them coming!" Heh. That's what happens when you got shell in the game, baby! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2020-04-10 19:23 |
| #17 There's an old Bavarian joke about a woman at the market who wants to buy eggs. "What? 30 cents for an egg? Are you crazy?" "Do you know how cold it is. Hens don't like to lay eggs when it's cold!" "Oh I understand. They don't like to lay eggs when eggs cost 20 cents. But at 30 cents an egg, they just keep them coming!" |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2020-04-10 17:07 |
| #16 No problem with eggs in rural San Diego County. It's not like the chickens can store them |
| Posted by: Frank G 2020-04-10 16:57 |
| #15 Same here, except - for some reason - no eggs. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-04-10 16:07 |
| #14 I can just say that here the local markets are extremely well stocked with fruits and vegetables including first grade asparagus (grown 50 km north of Munich. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2020-04-10 16:05 |
| #13 The solution to the choice cuts going to waste because people are using more ground beef is to grind the choice cuts. The complaint is that they can't currently sell at a premium price, which sucks, but it's not that there's no market. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2020-04-10 16:01 |
| #12 If they can pick asparagus, they can pick anything. They're halfway to being ready to bring in tobacco. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2020-04-10 15:56 |
| #11 IIRC, virtually all of the Germans couldn't/wouldn't deal with the hard work and washed out.--Clem Sounds like the US city kids I had the experience of training as the "entry level position" supervisor. Unlike "farm kids" or military veterans they had no experience of working hard, or tedious labor, in their lives. |
| Posted by: magpie 2020-04-10 13:25 |
| #10 Good to hear, EC, and I echo your sentiments. I seem to remember many years ago there was a "push" to have Germans work the Spargel fields instead of foreigners, predominantly Poles. IIRC, virtually all of the Germans couldn't/wouldn't deal with the hard work and washed out. |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-04-10 12:48 |
| #9 In Germany students are flocking to the countryside to pick asparagus. For those who stay longer than a day, my respect. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2020-04-10 12:14 |
| #8 Capitalism is not the problem, it's fooking GOVERNMENT. |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-04-10 11:49 |
| #7 You all understand this harvest was planned last year? And in a second's notice, nearly all their customers and a good portion of their logistics was declared illegal? Blame capitalism my fucking ass. Capitalism is why there is a surplus. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2020-04-10 10:21 |
| #6 Give it away as cattle feed. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2020-04-10 10:10 |
| #4 The article does seem to focus more on Florida. I'm not a farmer, but I assume they can grow stuff most of the year down yonder. Remember the free gov't cheese in the 1980's? Dairy farmers are already feeling the pain as milk consumption was going down already as people lean more to non-dairy items such as almond or oat "milk". In fact, I think one big producer filed for bankruptcy. Dean? |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-04-10 09:47 |
| #3 This is April. Now while some crops get multiple year harvests, a lot are once a year, usually in the fall. So what food stock is multi-harvest that is vital? Zucchini? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2020-04-10 09:39 |
| #2 Picking fruits & vegetables is one thing, selling them is another. Or, how about letting the unemployed come and pick what they can take home--for free. I am not so sure capitalism works anymore, either, especially when poorly run companies get bailed out by government or the Fed. |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-04-10 06:31 |
| #1 Not sure if capitalism works anymore but 16 million Americans filed for unemployment over the last few weeks and farmers cannot find someone to pick their fruit and vegetables? Go figure. |
| Posted by: Airandee 2020-04-10 02:53 |