Thanks for a good article with a nice image.
You wrote: <<The farmer gets a mere 20 cents or 20 percent. The firms in
the middle get the rest. >>
Are you sure about the figures here? If a farmer gets $5 for a 60#
bushel of wheat, that's 8 cents a pound; what does a one-pound box of
wheaties cost--3 bucks? *Maybe* the 20 percent is an average across all
commodities. The farmer's take on fresh produce might be that much...
You final point, of course, is very well taken. We've got to broaden and
shorten that hourglass neck--and that's just what CSAs and Farmers'
Markets do.
Woody
woodyw@juno.com
"There is no scarcity abiding in Nature;
any scarcity we see is our own doing."