A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
How to
make money
farming? It’s
complicated
W
ith all due respect
to Sonny Perdue,
there’s more to
farming than size.
The U.S. agriculture secre-
tary recently told folks at the
World Dairy Expo in Mad-
ison, Wisconsin, that some
farms may have to get larger
to survive.
“Now what we see, obvi-
ously, is economies of scale
having happened in America
— big get bigger and small go
out,” he said, according to the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“It’s very difficult on econo-
mies of scale with the capital
needs and all the environmen-
tal regulations and everything
else today to survive milking
40, 50, 60 or even 100 cows,
and that’s what we’ve seen.”
While that may be seen by
many as a fact of agricultural
life these days, we disagree.
Farms producing commod-
ities such as milk must be effi-
cient, no doubt about it. Most
often, those efficiencies are to
be found in larger operations.
That much is true.
However, there is much
more to farming — or any
other business, for that matter
— than producing the maxi-
mum amount of a commodity
at the minimum cost.
Much more.
Efficiency is important, but
other factors also come into
play.
For example, the market
is critical. A farmer produc-
ing a commodity such as milk
will receive a certain price.
As a price taker, he or she
makes money by being effi-
cient, minimizing debt, keep-
ing input costs down and hop-
ing for the best.
Niche marketers, how-
ever, find a segment that they
can target. For example, some
dairies market organic milk.
In addition to being efficient,
minimizing debt, keeping
input costs down and hoping
for the best, farmers might be
able to market their organic
milk for a price premium.
That could in turn increase
the odds of a farmer clearing
a profit.
Another consideration is
value-added products. Sup-
pose that organic dairy farmer
makes artisan cheese, ice
cream or yogurt with his milk.
That would potentially open
the door to more income.
Assuming those products can
be made efficiently — there’s
that word again — more
income is possible.
Choosing the right crops
to grow is also a major fac-
tor. For example, instead of
growing forage for his cows, a
farmer might be able to grow
another crop such as hemp,
which in many instances is
bringing much higher prices.
Yet there’s a possibility that, at
some point, the hemp market
could become saturated, forc-
ing those prices down.
It’s a matter of putting the
resources a farmer has at his,
or her, disposal to the high-
est use.
Still other factors include
side products. Some dair-
ies make money turning cow
manure into compost, electric-
ity or natural gas and selling
it. Others lease land for wind
turbines that produce elec-
tricity. Others do custom field
work on the side or grow feed
instead of buying it.
Still others sell rights-of-
way or development rights to
help them pay down debt and
increase cash flow.
Farmers need to know how
to raise livestock and grow
crops, but they also need to be
entrepreneurs, marketers and
innovators.
Yes, Mr. Secretary, there’s
more to farming profitably
than size in the 21st century. A
lot more.
WHERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax:
541-575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509.
Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@
centurylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John
Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028.
Fax: 541-575-1721. Email: cityjd@
centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601.
Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@
cityoflongcreek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426,
Monument 97864. Phone
and fax: 541-934-2025. Email:
cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688.
Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@
ortelco.net.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
OTHER VIEWS
Vaping ban a wise course of action
The fact that the Oregon
Liquor Control Commission
is moving ahead to formu-
late plans to execute Gov. Kate
Brown’s order that bans vaping
products is good news.
A spokesman for the agency
said in a story in this news-
paper this week that once the
commission OKs the ban, its
staff could begin inspecting
retailers immediately.
As many readers probably
already know, Brown issued
an executive order last week
to ban flavored vaping prod-
ucts for six months. The ban is
a reaction to a mysterious vap-
ing illness that has sickened
more than 1,000 people across
the nation, and two dead in
Oregon.
In our conservative part of
the county, no one is particu-
larly enamored when govern-
ment steps in and proclaims the
decision is for our “own good.”
The Eastern Oregon mantra
of live-and-let-live as long as
injuries. What, exactly, is the
cause is something the nation’s
medical community — spear-
headed by the Centers for Dis-
ease Control — must discover.
Granted, the ban will impact
small businesses that sell the
product. No one in our part
of the state likes to see small
business — or business of any
kind, for that matter — suffer
an economic hardship. Build-
ing a prosperous business any-
where in America is tough, but
it is particularly difficult in
Eastern Oregon.
But in this case, a prudent
course of action is far better
than doing nothing and wait-
ing for a medical solution that
could take months or years to
surface.
Until a definitive answer
to the vaping illnesses can be
found and proper steps created
to deal with it, a ban makes
sense. On this one the governor
made the right move.
—East Oregonian
OTHER VIEWS
Vaping warnings wise, but ban is excessive
Several hundred people have
damaged their lungs by vaping,
and around 20 have died in the
United States recently, includ-
ing two in Oregon.
The trend is troubling. And
given the popularity of vap-
ing as a safer alternative to
smoking tobacco, government
health officials had an obli-
gation to issue warnings and
even, as many have, to urge
people to stop vaping alto-
gether until more evidence is
available about which prod-
ucts pose the greater risk.
But Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown’s decision last week to
ban for six months the sale of
flavored vaping products in
Oregon, despite the absence
of definitive proof that those
products are hurting people, is
excessive.
Elected officials should not
ban the sale of legal products
when the link between those
products and illness is less
than conclusive. There’s evi-
dence, although again it’s not
absolute, that the biggest dan-
ger might lie with black-mar-
ket products rather than the
legal ones affected by Ore-
gon’s temporary ban.
The analogy is not perfect,
to be sure, but food recalls,
most of which are initiated
voluntarily by a manufacturer
rather than imposed by the
government, are limited to a
well-documented, lab test-con-
firmed risk, usually contam-
ination of a specific list of
items.
In any case, it’s not as if
Oregon’s temporary ban is
the only way to significantly
reduce the number of peo-
ple who use flavored vaping
products.
It’s beyond question that
the vast majority of people
who vape are aware of the
situation, and of the poten-
tial risk. Some retailers acted
quickly to pull products until
they could confirm whether
they contained an additive
that has been linked to the ill-
nesses. And it’s reasonable to
believe that when the gover-
nor says “Until we know more
about what is causing this ill-
ness, please, do not vape,” she
will have an influence.
California officials issued a
similar statement urging resi-
dents to avoid vaping.
But unlike Brown, Califor-
nia Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t
temporarily ban any prod-
ucts. Newsom instead directed
health officials to start a pub-
lic awareness campaign to
emphasize the potential health
risks of vaping.
As is typically the case
when the government seeks to
deprive citizens of a product
based on its potential hazards,
Brown’s ban on flavored vap-
ing items likely will have neg-
ative effects that partially off-
set its intended benefits.
Because vaping is an alter-
native to smoking, it’s likely
that some vapers, denied
access to the product, will
revert to smoking tobacco.
And there’s nothing uncertain
about the health risks associ-
ated with that.
Brown’s decision to tempo-
rarily ban products that might
not prove to be implicated in
the recent spate of illnesses
isn’t the only problematic part
of her executive order, though.
The document shows that
Brown’s motivation isn’t lim-
ited to the recent illnesses.
The order also cites surveys
showing that more teens are
using flavored nicotine vap-
ing products, which can’t be
legally sold to anyone younger
than 21 in Oregon. Brown’s
order blames this trend on
advertisements for the flavored
products.
It’s perfectly reasonable for
the governor to worry about
minors using products which
are supposed to be available
only to adults. But that prob-
lem, it hardly needs to be said,
is not limited to flavored vap-
ing products. Teenagers smoke
cigarettes and drink alcohol as
well. Gov. Brown has not taken
any action to temporarily ban
either of those products. Nor
did she ban all vaping liquids,
only the flavored ones.
—Baker City Herald
L
ETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local,
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
you are not breaking the law
remains vibrant. If you want
to smoke, that’s your personal
decision.
But in this case Brown made
the right move.
That’s because flavored vap-
ing products are extremely
popular and right now the
product appears to be caus-
ing serious illnesses. The rea-
son why people are apparently
harmed by using the flavored
vaping products is unknown.
That makes it a general health
hazard. When the health of the
greater community — whether
in small town Eastern Oregon
or other parts of the nation —
is at risk, government has a
duty to act.
Public health isn’t a once-
in-a-while issue, but one that
centers on our very way of life
and our collective pursuit of
happiness. So, the governor’s
decision was a prudent one.
A lot remains unknown about
what is causing these vaping
Online: MyEagleNews.com
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