Is Anyone Ruining Farming?

Here is a continuation of yesterdays blog post... Later on in the e-mailer wrote this, "So many comments on the blog are geared to how "we" are ruining farming. Where do you think the line is between "lifestyle" and "profession"? What makes one better or worse?" I have to admit that this one is a tough one, but it is also a question that I have thought about quite a bit from time to time. It is also a question that can be very divisive, so I'll just throw out a couple of thoughts.

There are probably a few comments from me and others on this blog about how the larger farmers are ruining farming and I will stand by that to a point. I do think that a 20,000 acre grain farm can have a negative impact on farming ... just as I believe that Wal-Mart can have a negative impact on shopping and consumerism. I honestly believe the bigger is better mentality is ruining our culture.

I see it in all of the teenagers that I work with, whether it is on the soccer field ... at church ... or in youth group. There is a trend even among the Middle School students that goes something like this, "I need to have this to fit in ... I can't live without a cell phone ... I don't have 15 minutes a day to just sit and be quiet." And it just goes on and on from there.

I have a feeling the bigger is better in agriculture comes from the same through process that the teenagers I work with have ... I got to have it because it just seems like I need to have it or just because I can have it. Just because you can have it doesn't mean you need it! The same goes for 20,000 acre farms I believe.

But, I think the biggest thing is brought up from the Top Producer columnist himself. Remember what he said: "Phipps said in his spring column in Top Producer that there has been little discussion about the long-term impact of an ever-increasing productivity in an industry with a fixed land base."

I don't think it is a question of where you draw the line, I think it is a question of why are we doing this and how is it going to turn out... Again, what are your thoughts?

More About Titan Farmers...

My posts this week are going to be relatively short because I have a VERY busy week coming up with work and such. But, since I enjoy posting so much and I absolutely love learning from others I at least wanted to put something up each day. That being said ... I will probably not have much time to comment back or respond to e-mails this week. I check in when I have a break though!

I am always surprised when people stumble across the blog and begin commenting or e-mailing me. It seems like there have been a few more of those lately and I enjoy the interaction, learning, and the opportunity to share some of my experiences. One such e-mail came last week from someone who stumbled across the blog while searching for "beginning farmer" on Google (thank you Google). I thought he had some very valid points that deserved a lot of discussion and thought ... so far I haven't been able to respond to all of those points, but I wanted to hit a couple this week.

The e-mailer wrote: "Here's the thing, I found your site because I'm giving very very serious consideration to taking my degree next May and putting up in closet. So "Beginning Farmer" typed into Google brought me to you. After reading through your site for awhile I wondered if you've ever thought about the challenges that face the very few that are in line to become what you and "A[llan] Nation" describe as the Titan Farmers."

Well, my knee-jerk reaction would be, "Challenges ... they don't face challenges! They inherit huge amounts of land and equipment and employees and whatever else. If you want to see a challenge try to figure out how to build a house, buy land, spend time with your family, work a job, and be a beginning farmer!"

But, I don't really think that is a true response ... let alone a proper response! My thought out response would go something like this...

First of all I'm all about putting the degree up on the shelf (I'm a college dropout) ... but, do make sure you get the degree (I regret being a college dropout). Secondly, I have to admit that I haven't thought about the challenges that those that are inheriting/taking over face. I guess that just isn't what this blog is about, but I'm sure they face some major challenges dealing with management/equipment/land acquesition and more. Also, there is probably some pressure that goes along with keeping the thing going.

But, the biggest thing I would say in response is that the term "Titan Farmer" isn't my term or even Allan Nation's. The term comes from "Top Producer Magazine" (a mag for the big farms). And the writer that Mr. Nation quoted in his column said that he was worried about the direction of the titan farms. I would think that if someone on the inside is worried I should be worried.

Those are some of my thoughts. Now, what are some of yours?

A High Failure Rate

A slightly late post today. We were at my Uncle's last night and my wife convinced me (not that difficult really) that since we were at the farm everyday now with the pigs and the building we should have some chickens. Sooo..... I spent extra time at the farm this morning fixing up our chicken pen and getting them sort of settled. I'll have to do a little more work to get everything in tip-top shape again (since we haven't used it for a while), but we should have eggs pretty soon. Also, we still have five chickens at my Dad's ... we will bring them back up once we are out there during the day and evening so we can let them roam during the day.

Now, back to the Allan Nation column that I began writing about on Monday...

"The start-from-scratch career path now has a failure rate similar to professional sports. Farming's problem with kids today is we don't tell them the truth."

That is what Mr. Nation reports John W. Phipps (of Top Producer Magazine) has to say about today's state of farming in the United States. But, Mr. Phipps doesn't believe that it is totally hopeless for the young farmers of today. He believes there is a place for them in "agrarian agriculture". That is the term he used, and I'm not too sure I like it ... but, oh well ...

Anyways, this agrarian agriculture that he is talking about is exactly what this blog and so many that read this blog are all about. Mr. Phipps defines agrarian agriculture as, "Producing for a market that values how a commodity is created (organic, local, free-range, etc.), is labor intensive and sensitive to public perception." Of course that is something that many who read this blog already know, but it is always great to hear this type of thinking from a "top producer".

Maybe the tide is turning? What are your thoughts?

Young Farmers Need Not Apply

This little snippet from Allan Nation's latest editorial (the one I referenced yesterday) really got my mind churning,

"The net result, he said [the 'he' in this case is John W. Phipps], will always be an ever-smaller need for replacement farmers. This huge implication for young people who would like to farm but aren't in line to inherit a large farm.

'Put bluntly, agriculture's problem with young people is we don't need them,' he said."

Here is what I think ... that statement is true ... that statement is scary ... that statement reiterates how difficult I think this farming thing can be ... and to top it all off it makes really feel for the students that I work with that have a desire to farm. Just a couple weekends ago I was chatting with a recently graduated high school student from my church who has a HUGE desire to come back and work on the family farm, but with only a few hundred acres does he even have much of a fighting chance (if he continues with what he knows).

Mr. Nation also relates this statement from Mr. Phipps,

"He said throughout his whole farming career he had heard that X percentage of farmers were 65 years old and would soon need replacing. And yet, due to the constant increase in scale there has never been a shortage of farmers."

Now, don't get me wrong I'm not advocating keeping farms small just because they are pretty and romantic. Or that we need to make sure there is a farm for everyone that wants to farm. As with all things I think there needs to be a high level of quality, but I believe there is something dangerous behind these "titan farms". As Mr. Phipps said, there is a problem when you have "ever-increasing productivity in an industry with a fixed land base."

So, do you think we can turn back the clock on this trend on a large scale? I think that those looking to grab a niche (maybe more on that tomorrow) can find a place, but will we just continue to have farms that are ever increasing in size or will the bubble burst? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Titan Farmers

As I read "Allan's Observations", the editorial column by Allan Nation in The Stockman Grassfarmer I was introduced to a term that I had never heard before, "Titan Farmer". The entire column was actually great and full of tons of little nuggets, but I think I'll tackle them one at a time over the next few days ... for now I just want to discuss this interesting term, "Titan Farmer".

So, what is a "Titan Farmer"? Well a "Titan Farmer" is a farmer who farms between 20,000 and 40,000 acres of land, and are even planning on getting bigger. Mr. Nation writes, "...thanks to super-sized machinery and resulting low labor costs per acre these farmers can afford to bid cash-lease land away from farmers in the thousand acre category..." And to tell you how serious these guys are there is even mention of a cash-lease on 2,700 acres right here in my home state of Iowa that went for $400 an acre ... UP FRONT!

There is the future of farming. One of these "Titan Farmers" even told Top Producer Magazine that he has two full-time marketing people that have the sole purpose of finding land to rent and keeping the land owners happy. They use these two marketers to find full-time farmers that are farming farms in the 1,000 acre range or so and then buy them out and hire them to work for the Ultra-Mega-Super-Duper Farm (maybe I just coined a new farming term).

With all of that in mind I believe one of the most interesting quotes from Mr. Nation's column, and subsequently from a column by 1,700 acre farmer John W. Phipps, is this:

"Phipps said in his spring column in Top Producer that there has been little discussion about the long-term impact of an ever-increasing productivity in an industry with a fixed land base."

There is a lot to think about there, and to tell you the truth there is a lot there that causes me to pause... As I said this months column was full of little nuggets, so the story does not stop here.