Originally Posted by Bucking Bar

Brakechatter,

I agree with what you wrote. The flow down was, and is, an important part of our job protection provisions. In fact, your quote is well worth repeating:You and I both witnessed the crime from different perspectives. You were in the barn and I was in the tree outside (with a less obstructed view). The farmer made a deal to sell the farm, but he couldn't tell the kids of his plans to squander their inheritance. He decided to tell everyone the sacred cows were stolen, then he'd claim the insurance money and retire. He opened the door and fired the shots, then fingered the straw man. When the straw man saw the sacred cows stampeding off the farm he figured the best way to save the day was to build a big fence that would protect them. To do so the straw man needed a hammer and some nails. Lumber from the open barn door was as good as any other lumber. I cautioned the straw man that there were flaws with his hammer, materials cost too much and that the farmer was a dangerous adversary. In the end, he lacked the workforce and materials to get the job done before the cows were taken by enterprising farmers from Utah and Indiana. The Straw Man settled for the ability to watch the farmhouse from a nearby hill. From this vantage point he calls the cops any time he sees a door on the barn starting to open, or close. The farmer resents the surveillance with a passion and ended up with a lot less retirement than what he had hoped his plan would produce. The kids work the farm now, making a lot less than the farmer did. The old homestead is still beautiful and green. The problem is, the farm just isn't as big as it once was and those cows that got lose are now competition for the homestead's production.

The neighboring farm to the Southwest avoided all the shenanigans and just stuck to farming. Their farm lacks all the fancy divisions and all the managers to figure it all out, but the barn is in pretty good shape. It has all of its doors and many fewer bullet holes. The just cows do what cows do ... eat grass, fart and mooooo.

Just because I understand and try to explain something does not mean I support or am trying to defend it.

As for my December 2010 forecast, I hope that I'm wrong. If the market speculation regarding our profitability is anything more than a pump and dump, I'll be eating that prediction with a smile.