Consider the Kiwi

As the Doha trade talks continue to flounder on the impossibility of the US and EU significantly reducing farm subsidies, and as our Congress passes another whoppingly grotesque farm bill, it is perhaps instructive to consider the Kiwis.

In 1984, more or less cold turkey, New Zealand cut its farmers loose. No more subsidies.

According to the NY Times:

The farming community was devastated — but not for long. Today, agriculture remains the lifeblood of New Zealand’s economy. There are still more sheep and cows here than people, their meat, milk and wool providing the country with its biggest source of export earnings. Most farms are still owned by families, but their incomes have recovered and output has soared.

“Farming in New Zealand is now a cold, hard business,” said Mr. Lumsden, who at the time of the farming revolution was president of Federated Farmers in the Waikato region, the heart of New Zealand’s dairy country. “I think we have benefited hugely.”

one particularly perspicacious Kiwi put it this way:

“When you’re not going to get paid for what the market doesn’t want, you have to get off your backside and find out what they want,” said Charlie Pedersen, who, when he is not raising sheep and beef cattle on his farm north of the capital, Wellington, is president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand.

Amen, brother Charlie, Amen!