I wouldn't even ride along on this rig.

[stuckmotor]

I still don't understand how Swiss grain farmers compete with those in countries with large flat fields. The additional cost of the leveling equipment and inevitable loss when a combine crashes down a slope would seem to make combines like that out of reach financially. Does anyone know whether farmers are highly subsidized by the Swiss government? Does the country have high protective tariffs on ag imports? Farmers in my area have largely switched to cattle and timber. The large flat fields in other parts of the country and world are more productive and even there many farmers go broke. Remember Farm Aid?

 

[California]

I still don't understand how Swiss grain farmers compete with those in countries with large flat fields.

That's one of several factors explaining why Russia wants Ukraine. Ukraine was the 'breadbasket' of the USSR. It's similar to the US/Canada wheat belt, with production that supports substantial export. There is little good farmland of comparable quality in Russia. I doubt Switzerland can grow more than just for local use, on their difficult terrain.

 

[stuckmotor]

That's one of several factors explaining why Russia wants Ukraine. Ukraine was the 'breadbasket' of the USSR. It's similar to the US/Canada wheat belt, with production that supports substantial export. There is little good farmland of comparable quality in Russia. I doubt Switzerland can grow more than just for local use, on their difficult terrain.

Way back when things started going down hill for Richard Nixon someone told me he was going fine until the US made a deal to sell wheat to the Soviet Union. Ukraine's harvest must have fallen short that year.

 

[MossRoad]

From here:

Does Switzerland produce half of all the food it needs?

So says the government as it tries to convince voters to reject a proposal calling for greater ethical standards in food production. Is it right?

www.swissinfo.ch

The reality is this: Switzerland imports more food than it exportsExternal link. In fact its food imports per capita are among the highest in the world, due in large partExternal link to its high population density and the relatively small area available for cultivation.

 

[stuckmotor]

The privileges of being a farmer in Switzerland

The agricultural sector is protected through import restrictions and state subsidies, but farmers receive a number of other privileges too.

www.swissinfo.ch

Whether Swiss grain producers receive special economic considerations or not there has to be enough money available to them to cover the cost of those combines. The closest I see to machines like that I see working around here, is those used by the utility crews that clear the rights of way.

My guess is that the farmers use their long winters to figure ways to maximize the "other privileges" and they add up nicely. The goal is probably to be able to produce enough edibles on their own to stay neural and ride out the next big war.