$$ - Bolts vs Food

[SPYDERLK]

!! ... Been looking at fastener prices and its a shock. Theyve gone up a lot more than food or clothing. What does this mean for our farmers.!?
larry

 

[beenthere]

That it costs the farmers more to produce food?

 

[sandman2234]

Cost of steel manufacturing in China is going up, dollar value down, or maybe the Chinese are figuring out they have us between a rock and a hard place and are starting to turn the screws?
David from jax

 

[Duffster]

What does this mean for our farmers.!?
larry

Very little.

 

[sandman2234]

Very little.

Meaning? Means little or means they will get little because of it? Or that farmers don't use enough fasteners to affect their bottom line?
David from jax

 

[Duffster]

Meaning? Means little or means they will get little because of it? Or that farmers don't use enough fasteners to affect their bottom line?
David from jax

All 3 :laughing:

 

[consaka]

!! ... Been looking at fastener prices and its a shock. Theyve gone up a lot more than food or clothing. What does this mean for our farmers.!?
larry

It just means they go back to American made baling wire.

 

[SPYDERLK]

That it costs the farmers more to produce food?

I would think that might extrapolate to them being poorer and working harder .. the small guy being squeezed to death. Fertilizer has gone way high too.
larry

 

[RickB]

All 3 :laughing:

Don't talk with your mouth full.

 

[Duffster]

Don't talk with your mouth full.

(taking bite out of sandwich) What is that supposed to mean?

 

[SPYDERLK]

sandwich used to cost 2 bolts ... now it only costs one

 

[jimmyj]

More unsettling is the Chinese interest in Potash Corp.

FT.com / Companies / Chemicals - Beijing eyes counterbid for PotashCorp

I just HATE the fact that my county is allowing resource after resource to fall into foreign hands.

I remember when China was building the olympics, how scrap was through the roof. The world is a very small place now it seems.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

I can't ever recall seeing a farmer buy a new bolt. They grab a rusty one from an old pail or from a junk piece laying around.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I think hes exaggerating for effect. Nevertheless, you do what you can to keep going real time. Going to get bolts costs time adding to their premium. New, waiting on the shelf may not be well afforded by many. So grab at the scrap.
larry

 

[tallyho8]

Right! I bet many farmers are as thrifty as I am. I would never throw away a decent bolt. They all go into my bolt bucket and when I need one in a hurry, there it is. No need to stop what I am doing for an hour to ride to the hardware store miles away to buy a bolt.

It isn't just the 50 cents I save on the bolt. An hour of down tractor time can cost me $50. I am proud of the fact that I can save so much time and money in such an easy way and I'm sure that most farmers are too.

 

[jimmyj]

I'm not really a farmer but even I have buckets and bins of used nuts and bolts. They've saved my bacon many times.

 

[RickB]

You couldn't be more wrong. I grew up on a dairy farm. This was not a slap at my fellow brothers, just a reality.

Well, I apologize for taking your post the wrong way. I quit dairying on the family farm in 1986. I'm currently watching a couple guys I grew up with deal with the mess that has become American Agriculture. As you know, it ain't pretty.

 

[Redbug]

All I can say is I never pass up a washer or bolt lying in a parking lot. And I usually take what fasteners I can easily get out of whatever I am throwing away. I also have about 100 pounds of metal in the form of bolts, screws, washers, clamps, etc, etc.

It just makes good sense to be thrifty since that's the way I was raised. I hate having to drop what I am doing to chase a bolt down at the hardware store...which mostly now come prepackaged at an inflated price.

I think most farmers buy them in bulk by the pound at places like Tractor Supply or Agri Supply if they are close enough.

I'm not sure how the farmer can pass his costs to the consumer since the farmer is at the beginning of the food chain. He has to sell his produce to whomever will offer the best price or the going rate, or has locked in a price earlier in the season. Seems like a squeeze play if they don't have some kind of specialized product.