Hello Richard & All,
Welcome to BEE-L! My income tax return lists me as a farmer( along with 
beekeeper). I have got a USDA-ARS farm number. All my neighbors are farmers 
except for a few city folks which moved to the country to raise dogs.

>
> Farmers are growing multiple corn crops back to back (not good)  rather 
> than rotating.

This trend is not new and started with soybeans when soybeans were high. i 
have questioned a few of these farmers as to why as I keep bees on their 
farms. They say its to survive. Since they have went to roundup ready their 
profit margins keep shrinking. They are forced to buy from big ag and pay 
the price big ag charges for the no till. Big Ag keeps tightening the web 
because they can!


Most of the strickly row crop farmers are gone in our area unless they run 
cattle. Good money in cattle. last week this years calves brought cattlemen 
a third higher than expected at the Kingsville auction.
Missouri was at one time the largest cow/calf state in the U.S.. Big Ag will 
never get its hooks into the cattle business.


> I am branching out into Christmas trees.

Been there and done that! Glad I only stated with a few hundred and glad now 
all but a few are gone. Email Richard and I will describe the problems. Hope 
you are not planting Scotch pines!

bob 


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