Editorial: the earnestly agricultured Estonian

Photo: Tairo Lutter

As prices drop the farmers are getting the creeps. Already, some are on loan payments holiday granted by bankers. Should the low linger, next year will thin the weaklings out. Laying entire blame on Russian food ban ain’t right – global market went into decline long before Vladimir Putin had the idea to forbid Western groceries.

Deep within the Estonian heart, there lies an inner farmer – the reason, perhaps, why a Tallinn city slicker will fire up when the country boy weeps. And also: in the village, few are the working options and whenever a farm goes under, many will have to adjust. And doubtless, country living and agriculture are important in Estonia. Who of us wouldn’t feel sympathy and compassion for the man tilling the ground and tending the cows?

Even so, there is the down-to-earth side to farming. The firms do pick a strategy, as in any business. The farmers also bear responsibility for being competitive. Price fluctuations may indeed be alleviated with Estonian and European taxpayer money, but one would hardly agree with lobbyists urging the politicians to pay up for faulty economic decisions.

Price shocks will be well weathered by the farmer who prepared in the good times, laid stuff in store, and invested to keep competitive. Goes without saying: in agriculture also, not all firms are managed equally well. The overall tendency seems to favour the biggies, but: some large farms are weak and some small ones are strong.   

Whoever it is that survives the low-price-era now upon us, in longer perspective will surely emerge a winner. Global population growing and poor countries getting rich, more and more of food will be wanted. The current price drop on world market is a thing temporary. Meanwhile, for lots of local farmers the issue is whether the rise comes in a couple of months or a couple of years. If the latter is the case, the weaker ones – alas! – will have to bow out and make room for the tough.

As if to assure us all had options to lay something in store, a cattle farmer tells us in Postimees today of how «very royal was the price» of 40 cents for litre of milk paid to producers from last fall till this spring. There are the good times and there are the bad times. They come and they go. Wise for any businessman to use the good to prepare for the bad.