| | | Russian Journalist Travels to the United States, Comments on Agriculture American “Kulak”*
There is something we can learn at the farm overseas
It will be this year that Russia will become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). One can often hear that it will be the end of the Russian Agrarian Industrial complex which will not win in the competition with (for instance) the Agrarian Industrial complex of the United States. Yevgeniy Arsyukhin joined a group of Russian agrarians who wanted to take a look at their competitors and traveled in America – from New York to California. He came to understand: it will be difficult. But we will have to compete.
A huge steak and no inflation
One can assess the efficiency of agriculture when analyzing the amount of milk and the number of hectares with crops; there is another method, though, - to look at shop counters. When I turned up in the glorious city of San Francisco, the first thing I did – was to get on a bus, go to the local “Biryulevo” and visit food supermarkets where working people shop.
It’s true: the food in America is cheap. Milk and dairy produce are less expensive than here in Russia by 30 percent; wonderful, clean meat is sold at about 80 rubles (if you use the existing rate of conversion). A big net full of tangerines is just one dollar. And here they are – the “horrible” “Bush chicken legs”, we used to say that Americans themselves do not eat them. I bought half a kilo – just to try, they turn out to be the same chicken legs that Americans are selling to us and the price was similar as well. Close to them I saw chicken breasts that Americans are not selling to us. The breasts are relatively expensive, and the vendors are not sure that Russians will be buying them.
And what about cafes and restaurants? I purposefully and compared the menu from a roadside pub near the District Columbia and an eatery on the Moscow-Tver highway. It was cheaper in the US, approximately by 30 percent. If you pay ten dollars they will bring you a giant plate with a wonderful 300-gram steak surrounded by vegetables and potatoes and a plate of soup into the bargain. The notorious coke will be given to you free of charge, followed by inevitable ice and accompanied by complimentary nuts. It is mandatory that you throw the nutshells to the floor. Then you will be walking on the floor of the pub and hear the shells being crushed under your feet. People enjoy it: every restaurant owner by the road has a trick to attract the people to his place. Why is it so cheap? I realize – it’s about the climate. Though, frankly speaking, we have frosts, they have hurricanes; experts made a calculation, they say that the damage is similar. Nevertheless: housing is more expensive in the US, the gasoline is more.
*/”Kulaks” were successful private farmers from the Communist era, operating until forced collectivization by Stalin. In this context, Arsyukhin uses it to mean that the farmers he met in the United States are above average, expensive too (though we are catching up), but food is cheap. Why is it this way?
Professor of manure
Though half the Russian food is supplied by private plots of land, the principle player in Russia is an individual with a salary working in the former kolkhoz-sovkhoz, which has turned into a joint-stock company. But in the US – it is a farmer. What is actually a farmer? When I was going to a farm I was trying to picture in my mind’s eye a character from an American movie. High boots, a cap, a gun above his bed… He does not say a lot, he is not smart but suspicious. And he is sure to be crying out: “I am tougher than Michael Jackson!”
Here it is: a typical American farm. A brick, two-storey house, designed in an attempt to look original (there is a plane propeller hooked up on the roof). A flower bed. A minimal but well thought out set of equipment and machinery on the site. A car with huge wheels (they are as high as a human being), it is meant for the children, the master himself is using a small plane that is parked in the back yard. He’s got 300 hectares (it’s about 300 football fields – if you do not know how big a hectare is).
And here he comes: the Master of the prairies. My stereotype was wrong: there stands a University professor in front of me (spectacles, refined manners), but in a horribly dirty sweater and jeans wearing high boots with dried manure stuck up to them. As was the case with Peter the Great – he is doing everything himself (whenever it is possible), though he has the opportunity to hire an extra Mexican for a plate of soup and enjoy life in a hammock. But this is not what matters. He has a high agrarian education. And he keeps studying – constantly, every day: Internet, journals, training courses. We are talking about cattle breeds: my goodness, he turns out to be an expert in selection/breeding. (Our agrarians admitted – the level of his knowledge is comparable to a Russian docent). We started discussing the grains – and he is quite nowledgeable in this area as well. We talked about milk – this is where he is a real connoisseur.
The first impression that our agrarians received from his farm was as follows: there is nothing special. We’ve seen that many times, we’ve seen better as well. Ten minutes later – and the mood had changed altogether. “It’s true, he is working here with all his might, - admits an agrarian from Rostov. – Ours wouldn’t dream of it. He is taking really good care of everything; he is not taking any chances.”
If not for him being educated, our new acquaintance behaved in exactly the same way as a Russian peasant: he is not asking us in (because then he would have had to provide some food.) He is making negative remarks about his government. He is not receptive to the mass-culture: the glittering city of Las Vegas tempted his two sons – they found it boring to work from morning till night at their dad’s farm. This is how farms die: our laborer will get old, he will retire and his neighbor will get his farm.
But not all the youths had been lured away (I was about to write – to the West). I am talking now with agrarian students in the town of Columbus. Susanne is 20 years old, instead of having a manicure at her dad’s expense she has achieved more than some others who are thirty years old. She is a cool driver of a huge jeep. She is fashionably dressed, but she knows (and not from the books only) how to deal with cows, she is a farmer’s daughter and a farmer to be. I asked her to show me the main attraction of the town. Without saying too many words she drove me to her alma-mater school. “Here it is, - she says in a proud way. – This is where we study. And the tree next to the threshold is of quite a rare species”. (Then came a Latin term – obviously the name of that species.) I looked around – what is it, a space center? No, it’s cooler than that. Students with files and folders are running around. They are not training the big bosses here: students will go to the cow sheds right away not to be afraid of the manure. They bring up farmers here.
What surprised Schwarzenegger?
Agriculture starts with machinery. I saw a lot of machinery (and not machinery only) at the largest international agrarian exhibition in the town of Tulare in California. I failed to see the governor of this state, the invincible Schwarzenegger, who also came to see the latest achievements of agro-business. It’s not surprising that I failed to see him: World Ag Expo is a huge field with numerous tents and plenty of noise – from roaring crowds of people and agrarian machinery engines. My fellow travelers ventured to explore the field and got lost for the day.
Well, a few words about the machinery… I have been to our kolkhozes (sorry, joint stock companies) before sowing period numerous times and I witnessed how the Chairman (sorry, the top manager) assembled one tractor out of five tractor-invalids. He was considering buying a foreign-made tractor but he was told that it was expensive, that there were only two or three models of a tractor in the West, but they were huge-sized, that’s for sure, and therefore he could get a tractor either on leasing terms or by using a loan. He was also told that if it comes to leasing then he has to order it from a dedicated government entity, and if he decides to use a loan then he has to do it via a particular government bank where he will be given a discount.
There is no doubt, Americans do like big machinery, and they are fond of giant tractors and harvesters: some of the monsters look as if they belong to a movie about an invasion from Mars. The new machinery is really expensive; the prices are go up to several hundred thousands of dollars. Therefore the farmers with big plots of land make use of their tractors for 20 years. But it’s not the monsters that are the most popular but tiny and inexpensive machinery for a medium sized farm. Hundreds of family farms (a father-engineer and his two sons with golden hands and cowboy hats) collect a set of family equipment. It starts with a touch of a finger, consumes very little gas and it is maintained by a local Uncle Peter whose sole training for it is just eight classes at school. If you buy an attachment for 200 dollars the tractor turns into a harvester, another 50 dollars – and it will weed your vegetable plot.
In the US nobody is waiting for anything from the State. Though, the State does support the science, that’s for sure. However (judging by what I saw at the Exhibition) the main force that is pushing the science forward is corporations and agricultural unions that hire scientists. After that the scientific product is being converted into a set of algorithms that even the least advanced farmer is able to understand.
A necessity which is underestimated
… We were traveling in the far away area in California, watching the farms out of the window and all of a sudden I felt very acutely that the mood of our agrarians had changed. They looked sad, but why? I understood it very soon.
- “Here he lives”, - said one of our agrarians pointing his finger at one of the farms behind the window. “This is his allotment, this is his equipment, and he’s got his electricity, too, from a wind-mill: he does not depend on Chubais.“
A peasant and his freedom and independence… This subject has been discussed numerous times, hasn’t it? Well, that depends… I still remember a simple story about a regional boss (during the Soviet times) who came to a huge livestock farm for an opening ceremony.
“Why is the drinking tank so low? It is not convenient for cows, “- he said all of a sudden.
“That’s such a clever observation, Vassily Kuzmich,” – the Chairman of the farm said and right away made a sign to a worker, the latter ran out to get some cement to adjust the drinking tank.
Vassily Kuzmich walked up another hundred meters and saw a cow drinking and not complaining, he turned to the Chairman and said slowly: “Well, on the other hand, it seems OK.”
The Chairman made a sign to the worker again – behind his boss’s back: “stop it.”
There is an old colored print: “A feudal lord instructs a land owner”. This is how it looks: A land owner is digging the land; he is bending over his spade. A gentleman in an ermine coat is above him proving something vehemently. It looks as if the peasant is about to stand up and hit this ermine-clad gentleman with his spade. But, alas, he is not doing it because the Master is speaking. “That’s such a clever observation, Vassily Kuzmich, very clever.” An American farmer is a descendant of an individual who fled to the New World from the feudal lord who was preaching at him too much. A few centuries passed by, but his relationships with the State still shows this peculiarity.
In Russia people are absolutely sure that the US farmer enjoys serious government support. They think that this fact accounts for the foodstuffs produced by the US farmers being so cheap. Well, yes and no. The principle (and nearly only) kind of government support in the US is exclusively related to grain production. It is believed that the rest of the farmers are being supported via cheap grain. The farmers themselves do not consider it to be the case and growling about it. The US farmers do not appreciate another kind of support, the one that refers to everyone – I call it “A program to save a farmer from going bust”. Let’s take milk. If the milk market price drops below 9 dollars for 100 pounds, then the State compensates the farmer for the price drop: let’s say, if the milk sells at 8 dollars then the State pays one dollar for 100 pounds. In Russia this procedure is considered to be just another instance of the huge support provided to the US agriculture. But the point is that the price of 9 dollars is lower than the profitability threshold, which is about 11 dollars. In other words if the price is 10 dollars the farmer already incurs losses, but he is still not getting anything from the State.
When I visited a different farm, which was a dairy farm, the owner complained to me that the price today is only 13 dollars. He explained to me that his business is constantly balancing between the market price for the feeds and the market price for milk. At present the feed prices have gone up but the milk has gone down. In fact, it’s a classic “fork”, which Russian agrarians experience all the time. However in Russia we think that this “fork” has been established not by the natural course of events on the market, but by certain drawbacks of the government.
Apart from the monetary support, what are the forms of interaction between the US farmers and the US Department of Agriculture? There exists only one form – providing information. Just to give you an example. Right now there is no avian influenza in the US. However, the USDA has already issued the most detailed materials (printed matter, videos, computer media – whatever your choice is… ), explaining to you how to save your poultry from this disease. A farmer gets this material free of charge, they do not ask a farmer whether he needs it or not, he is just on the mailing list. Exactly in the same way a farmer is informed about the weather, he gets the price forecast (for feeds, fertilizers, gasoline) and about the situation on the market. But who is carrying out the rest of the farmer-related activities?
This is what is being done either by the farmers’ unions or by the unions that coordinate agricultural producers of a particular area, let’s say, meat producers or milk producers. In Russia we realize the importance of such agricultural unions but when it comes to practice – it’s not so smooth. We do have the Unions, in other words, there exist offices with people sitting in them. But let me give you just one example. When avian influenza came to the country in August last year, I called up the Poultry Union, and they replied to me sounding quite annoyed that since the virus had been detected in private households it’s of no interest to them. But when it reaches the big poultry facilities… The US Poultry Union would have been absolutely surprised at hearing that somebody was dealing with this issue in such a way. No one is building up a barrier between a farm having a hundred chickens and a poultry facility having one hundred thousand birds in the US, moreover – the small farms are the ones that enjoy protection in the first place.
The Unions gave birth to real trans-national corporations. One of them (involved in breeding elite livestock) was established by a farmers’ union. And until now the members of the Union get the product at ten percent of the price. To tell you more than that: I saw a farmer who came to receive the money because his cow gave birth to the super cow. The firm was to pay to him: the firm confirmed that the calf had helped to grade up the breed.
It’s interesting that it is the livestock breeding area that is considered to be the realm of the State in Russia, they wouldn’t allow the private business to penetrate in this field. When the Farmers’ Union was establishing the corporation it did not ask the State whether it could do it or not.
Two worlds – two childhoods
When in the US I got a unique opportunity to see how our agrarians (and they were not the worst ones in this field) and their American colleagues communicate. The Russian agrarians go to the West to get experience quite often. And once they invited Americans with a reciprocal visit to Russia. The US farmers’ response was: “If we sign a good contract and receive some revenues, then – we shall certainly come.” Our folk failed to understand it: “You do not have the money, do you?” Perhaps, they do not – for certain things.
The other example is about notorious sanitary rules. I remember Russia banning importing “Bush legs” into the country, our bureaucrats were describing sanitary violations at the US poultry plants at length and in detail. Having visited one of the farms my fellow travelers were shocked: “why do you use the same pair of gloves when dealing with cows? You have to change them, don’t you?” “Why?” – asked the American farmer instead of providing the response to our question. Our agrarians conducted a long discussion among themselves and then said hesitatingly: “This is what the instruction says.” “My cows are not sick, that’s as good as the instruction goes,” - retorted the US colleague.
Now comes the last thing. Our agrarian can’t stop thinking about his “relationship with the State”. To spend an entire day in the office of a boss is considered to be normal. Our agrarians were amazed to learn that American farmers quite often do not know how their “bosses” look.
Forward, to the barricades!
To compete with agricultural production in other countries, including US agriculture, after Russia joins the WTO will be absolutely difficult if not destructive. But we have to begin this competition as soon as possible.
Why is it difficult? Because in the Russian Agrarian Industrial complex the notions of “efficiency of production” and “inexpensive product” occupy the least important place. The old phrase “oh, the kolkhoz was so successful, it took first place in all the competitions!” keeps buzzing in our heads. The times have changed but we keep hearing the same: “The number of our livestock is…”, “We have procured the best line…” And what is on the counter? If your amazing chicken has the price tag that bites you but you have “procured the best line”, what’s the beauty in that?
Why shall we have to compete? Because nothing will change if we do not get involved in free competition. All types of curtains are needed only for those who would like to continue to hide behind figures of milk yields and weight gains. This is at my expense, at the expense of the consumer.
Author: Yevgeniy Arsyukhin
Source: Russian Newspaper
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