Producer Bargaining: Its Current Status and Distribution of Benefits

†It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries, who have the laws in their favor; and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.†–Niccolo MachiavelliThese observations by Machiavelli on the nature of human behavior seem most appropriate when reviewing the current status and distribution of benefits of producer bargaining. While the concept of bargaining by farmers is not new, it has experienced a resurgence of interest of unprecedented magnitude in recent years. This increased emphasis has led some to refer to agricultural bargaining as a “concept whose time has arrived.†Also, this development suggests the possibility-if not the promise-of the initiation of a “new order of things†to many of those who have observed it.