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> there's no way an US or European farmer can compete with Russian, Ukrainian, South American or African labor and land costs For certain agricultural goods pe
by nyokodo 3y ago
> there's no way an US or European farmer can compete with Russian, Ukrainian, South American or African labor and land costs
For certain agricultural goods perhaps, but the Midwest is the most productive region for agriculture on the planet. Russia and Ukraine have vast areas of land, they focus on wheat because they mainly have marginal land and a limited growing season and wheat is perfect for that. Most of Africa and much of South America (Argentina being a notable exception) have terrible soil and require significantly more fertilizer to grow crops at scale. Labor is cheaper in those regions but that’s only one factor and it’s why so much farm labor has been automated in the US.
- red-iron-pine 3y agoto this point, the US isn't the single biggest producer, or consumer -- that'd be China. but they are the single largest exporter of grain overall, mostly corn from the midwest and California produce. the Green Revolution hit hard, and most farms are now huge consolidated enterprises. by comparison, in a lot of the world, most farms are smaller and often single family, and in many cases still using old world techniques -- e.g. non-trivial numbers of people plowing their fields with oxen, etc.