My Pops makes the big time

Matt,
I am not sure what is worse.... watching CNN, or knowing what and where you are talking about. LOL

$90 a ton sucks.

Aamonds? I used to do both grape vine pruning and aamonds when I was a kid. Damned glad I stayed away from the other Farmers in schoool. They were Dairy farmers. Moooooooooooo
Glenn
 
I haven't even read it yet and it already sounds better than topping cornrows from when I was younger...

Picture rows of corn a mile or so long. Now, sidestep down the WHOLE DAMN ROW and pick the tassels off the top (done for feed corn.) Repeat each day for a week or so.

You did two rows in a day, you got paid extra. Mind, that's two COMPLEAT rows - nothing missed, end-to-end and back again. Didn't get the last one? No extra.

I think I had more fun working on dairy farms or livestock than doing that...

5-90
 
I say screw the crops, sell the water.......

CRASH
 
Wow. That's pretty nasty. I hadn't realized that grape prices (not that I follow them) had spun down that far.

So, you guys really are nuts!
 
Year before last some varieties fell to $65. Our break even point is $100 & we have no debt load. A guy that has everything financed & has to make strokes on everything from the vinyard to equipment is dead before he even started. The fun part is that the market seems to be turning really fast. Wine consumption is shooting through the roof now that it's cheaper than bottled water & a short crop this year has the wineries being really friendly to us right now. Tey seem to be scrambling across the country side trying to talk guys out of pulling the vines.

Matt
 
<grin> Nice spot to be in </grin>

How long between planting vines and getting the first harvest?

You're dead right on the debt load, though. In the Midwest, it's pretty close to impossible to establish a fruit site without having some kind of "in."
 
ChiXJeff said:
<grin> Nice spot to be in </grin>

How long between planting vines and getting the first harvest?
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, it is ~7 years or so.
Glenn
 
$65 a ton? Gods, we got more for alfalfa. You guys are getting graped... Did an alaska cruise, Sept 03 (Don't do the jeep 'safari', I could have driven a double decker bus down that 'trail'..), but a california couple, some aussie friends and I did all right by the Cali wines... do you sell to just one winery, or wherever the market leads you?
 
i had no idea prices were that low. its interesting how prices can fluxuate year to year. maybe th e low prices will get a new group of people hooked on the stuff.

ive been learing about perfect competition industrys (farmers) and what affects price. its funny how the price of beef has doubled because the atkins diet, and the drought last year that put a bunch of cows to market (and dropped the prices way down low last year)because nobody could feed them.

the beat up part is the only way to raise the price is burn down your neighboors crops, though your not in competition with them in most cases (agg. based industrys), you could create a shortage :)

can you wine guys recomend a good CA red wine that doesnt have a screw on cap or come in a box?

Hunter
 
Hunter-Lynchburg said:

can you wine guys recomend a good CA red wine that doesnt have a screw on cap or come in a box?

Hunter
Click to expand...

What's wrong with screw on caps? Thursday was a very good vintage, I saw them wave the grape over the vat myself. Though they did fire the clumbsy oaf for actually dropping the whole grape into the alcohol vat...
 
It's 3 years from first plant to first crop although the first couple crops are not large. Glenn is about right that the vine will mature & yeild it's first large crops at about 7 years. The economics are hard for some to understand. I get a l;ot of people asking, "Why don't you just raise your prices?" Normally you have one company serving many customers with competition numbers that you can count on 2 hands. Farming is backwards. You have thousands of companys bidding to serve comsumers that you could count on one hand. There are literaly only 3 major wineries left. A farmer is what is called a price taker. Some years it can be good & some years bad. This is why we're involved in many other different sectors in ag. Diversification is where it's at.

Matt
 
Matt, that's about what I thought. FYI, cherries go 5 years before first harvest, and start paying their way around year 8.

You've nailed the price theory. The farmer has almost NO control over the price his/her crops bring.

It's only in recent years that my brother has figured out how to beat that game, and that's by taking advantage of the fact that his (and Dad's) cherry orchards produces 10 days to 2 weeks behind southern Michigan's orchards. They've been selling semi-loads south to idle processors.

Damn..... guess I'm gonna have to lower my standards and start drinking box wine.
 
Drinking box wine is fine, but that's not the only winery we sell to. I've kind of been dubbed the Franzia king on this board for one, because it's funny, & two because we do sell to the winery that produces it. We also sell to Gallo, Delicato, Canandagua, & just about anyboldy else who will buy. The way a farm has to position itself to get favorable prices is to be in the right spot at the right time with the right product. It's been said that farming is the biggest gamble in the world & it's probably the reason Vegas doesn't turn me on in the least. The stakes aren't high enough. A little secret that most farmers know, but have a very hard time to fallow through on is to go the opposite way the majority is going. For instance I know many farmers in the area that are pulling vines including ourselves to a small degree. I know a very small few that are actually developing new vinyards. Most would say that those small few are nuts. I feel they are the smart ones.

Matt

Drink California or go home.
 
can you wine guys recomend a good CA red wine that doesnt have a screw on cap or come in a box?
Click to expand...

1999 and 2000 Kenwood "Artist Series" are very good. They are Cabs, and are made with small lots from "custom" growers. The labels are beautiful, and the wine is even better.

Expect to pay between $35 and $50 for a bottle.

CRASH
 
So...Matt...my girlfriend would like to know if you can turn us on to any cheap but damn good wines that are exceptional.. :D (She's the wine drinker, myself I'm more of a beer guy, oh, and she's also an anti-box snob :D)

Sequoia
 
Unfortunately, Franzia doesn't make an Artist Series.

The box is the shizzle for trail riding.

CRASH
 
FarmerMatt said:
A little secret that most farmers know, but have a very hard time to fallow through on is to go the opposite way the majority is going. For instance I know many farmers in the area that are pulling vines including ourselves to a small degree. I know a very small few that are actually developing new vinyards. Most would say that those small few are nuts. I feel they are the smart ones.
Click to expand...

The farmer has to be able to survive during the lean times when grapes are $65/ton until the price goes back up. Too many of them are living on the edge, and would probably fold up if they tried this.

Here's another question...... the guys who are expanding: Are they planting the common stuff, or are they starting with exotic varietals?
 
CRASH said:
Unfortunately, Franzia doesn't make an Artist Series.

The box is the shizzle for trail riding.

CRASH
Click to expand...

Sir, you have no glass. Seriously. :D
 
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