How is Monsanto robbing the American Farmer blind?

Question

One bushel of RR Soybeans = 60 lbs
One bag of RR SBs=50 lbs

One bushel of RR Soybeans = $6.50 average
One bag of RR SBs =$15.00 (seed cleaning, handling etc) plus $ 16.00 tech fee Issued by Monsanto.

Plant population is generally 1.25-2 bags per acre. 1.25(38.75/acre) to 2(62.00/acre)
***If you must replant***
This tech fee must be paid again if you do not use Monsanto licensed herbicide on burndown application.

You can't tell me this isn't robbery. Year after year. Before these days you could save seed from the previous crop. You could plant 120lbs to the acre(too much) and cost per acre is only 12.00.
By the way, If you save roundup seed and plant it, you will be sued and have your farm taken away.
I hear the research excuse for the high costs of the tech fee.The research costs have long been absorbed with the billions of dollars of corn, soybeans, canola sold worldwide.

Answer 1

I most certainly agree. I am a son of a fifth generation farmer. We all work so hard just to survive. I would say the "copyright" of monsanto stipulating that one cannot use the harvested seed for planting next season is bogus. Its their definite security for continuing customers. However, you cannot have repeat customers if ur customers are broke. Look at history, a country that cannot sustain itself, will fold. We cannot be dependent on foreign countries for food, cuz lets face it. Ours is the best. If we dont conserve our farm acreage, we all will be at a loss. This is another way the large corporations are hurting our country.

Answer 2

By charging them 10 dollars an acre or more just for the "privilege" of planting their seed for them, and it not just the american farmer that is being poorly treated; Canadian farmers also have the 10+ charge per acre, but the canola market here isn't strong enough to justify planting it unless your a large corporate farmer because canola prices are only about half of what they normally are.
Thats $10,000 (based on a 1000 acre planting) just just for the licence to plant their seed, never mind the skyrocketing prices of the seed itself, fuel, fertilizer, chemical, farm equipment, etc.

Just another classic example of big corporations making hundreds of million dollars a year in profit of the backs of hard working and decent people.

Answer 3

The cost of seeds are high because there is "research" going on for improvement like regarding pests, bountiful crop and for seasonal changes like to keep fruit and vegetables from cracking in the heat. To this day hybrid seeds (from what I hear) can't produce appropriate seeds for re-seeding, and neither can anything that's irradiated. But now because of global climate changes this MIGHT change (at least it's being talked about). But the price needs to stay the same because of the research so maybe you should ask your government to subsidize the cost of seed.

Answer 4

Since you've been given the web site for Monsanto.. let's go a step further.

Earnings so far for 2007? Year to date sales of over four billion dollars!!!

http://monsanto.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=478

Sixteen percent average of farm costs go towards seed and chemicals (which is what monsanto provides).

http://www.grainnet.com/articles/Farm%20Earnings%20Drop%20in%20Illinois-34143.html

Monsanto isn't necessarily robbing farmers, as an increase in yield increases profit. But, I have to question if it's really necessary to be raking in billions of dollars in profit (over two billion net profit so far this year) off of the people who provide the countries food?

Answer 5

use open pollinated seed instead.

compare total costs.

corporations derive profits by providing the best solution.

by the way, have you discovered roundup resistant weeds in your fields yet?

you can sue monsanto for the additional costs associated with these frankenweeds.

Answer 6

They are not.
It's justice that they get paid for all the research they do and all the discoveries they achieve.
If it wasn't for Monsanto and other companies we'd still be having 50 bu/acre corn and terrible problems with weeds and insects in almost every crop.

Answer 7

They aren't. The premise is wrong.

Monsanto sells to farmers, who are free to buy anything they want from any source they want.

Because Monsanto sells so much fertilizer, seed, and agricultural products some people may feel that they are getting more money than the farmer is--but that's as silly as saying the automobile companies are giving money to the Arabs. (There is a connection between the fuel we use, and those selling the fuel--but it isn't a cause/effect relationship.)

There is no reason to blame Monsanto for any farmer's woe.

Answer 8

By stealing desperetly needed prescription glasses.