“How quickly life can change” is an old saying that is often repeated and just as often ignored. How well I know this to be a fact. Just a few short months ago I was contently going about my rural life, mucking stalls, making garden and caring for my livestock. My husband and I were struggling to remodel the 100 year old farmhouse located on our property and we gave little thought to the future, caught up in the day to day effort to subsist.
We have worked hard these past few months and soon we will move in to our restored bungalow. But the endeavor is bittersweet. A recently diagnosed illness may force early retirement upon my husband. The small farm cannot support itself. We have depended upon a second income to keep the operation going. Without additional income from other sources this little farm may cease to exist.
Everyday, other farms face similar circumstances. Demands from government agencies and market requirements combined with low prices for many agriculture products puts a strain on most small farms. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average net cash farm business income for farm operator households in 2004 was $15,603. Most farmers—primarily operators of small farms—have income from off-farm business activities or careers, to make ends meet.
Farmers must make their own provisions for benefits. Group insurance is either nonexistent or too expensive for most farmers to afford. Farm work can be hazardous. Large farm machinery and livestock can cause serious injury. Farmers do not have disability insurance. The proper handling of chemicals is necessary to avoid accidents, safeguard one’s health, and protect the environment. Health insurance is one of the factors that drive farmers off the land and into the corporate world for employment. The work of full-time farmers and ranchers is often strenuous; work hours are habitually long and they rarely get days off during the planting, growing, and harvesting seasons. 
Small farmers put a lot more of themselves into their operations, more management and labor, than do most corporate farmers. Farmers on row farms usually work from sunrise to sunset during the planting and harvesting seasons. Those who grow produce have different demands on their time. Organic farmers maintain cover crops during the cold months, therefore keeping them occupied with farming beyond the typical growing season. On livestock-producing farms and ranches, work goes on throughout the year. Livestock must be fed and watered every day, and dairy animals must be milked at least once a day, often more frequently. Farmers rarely get the chance to get away. There are few vacations, no sick days, and no personal time off! When disaster strikes it may mark the end of the farm.
Farm prices do not sustain small farms. More than half of the farm income comes from government farm supplement. Since farm program benefits have generally been based on production or acreage, the biggest operators will naturally get a larger proportion of the benefits. One of the more misleading statistics is the statement granting over 2.1 million “farms” in the US. The sad reality is that there is actually less that 700,000 remaining. If you take a close look many of the “farms” listed on government statistics you will find that their primary occupation is not agriculture. Government policy reform is greatly needed for US farm programs to assist small family farms.
Large family farms and corporate farms now account for most agricultural production. Shifts in production away from small farms are likely to continue since large farms are more profitable. The operators of many small farms are not being replaced as they age because it is difficult to make a living. Small farms are in decline and the future looks bleak. Why should this concern you? Small farms are more sustainable. Small diversified farms are more ecologically friendly. Most small farms are family owned by generations of family members who have a deep love for the land they farm. Small farmers are not just profit minded. The consumer benefits from the close, personal attention given to higher quality agriculture products generated on the family farm.
I don’t know what the future holds for us. For now, we will take each day as it comes. I may have to seek income off the farm since my husband will no longer be able to return to his former employment. Will the farm survive? That remains to be seen. We may become another USDA statistic showing another aging farmer retiring, another small farm lost. At the present, we will continue to toil as we have in the past. But sometime soon there may be one more auction for livestock dispersal, one more estate sale as another productive family farm vanishes.
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Comments: 25
I really feel for the farmers in the west and from what I see on US Farm Report the losses won't be as great as they were the last time they were hit by such horrendous snows. The Cattleman's Association at least had a plan in place this time that has reduced the death toll but as you say the horse industry and others will probably suffer high numbers.
As for what comes out of those corporate farms, well I'm not real eger to put what they produce on my table. Hubby may just have to start liking the taste of mutton.
Our small farm in Texas produced herefords, oats and a few vegetables in its hayday. Now it is supported by our retirement checks as we try to make it tourist friendly.
I do hope you can make your farm sustainable. I wish you both the best and please know you have our support.
Maywood, your comment went over my head at first, but I finally "got" it!
Just last week the New York Times published an editorial by a well known chef called "Amber Waves of Bland" decrying the tastelessness of industrially produced food and the mass inclusion of corn syrup into every thing that goes on an American dinner table. The hugh agribusiness farms produce quantiy but not quality. Here's a quote.
"Take as an example the insurance industry. Its policies favor big farms that grow a single commodity crop. If you're a farmer who wants to grow lots of different crops, it's almost impossible to get affordable coverage; to insurers, you're pretty much the equivalent of a skydiving cigarette smoker. The insurance regulations that are part of the farm bill need to address this disparity, because crop diversification should be exactly what insurers want: it helps to prevent the kind of natural disasters that insurance policies protect against, say, a devastating insect infestation. (Of course, it gives food lovers precisely what they want: more diversity, more variety, more flavor."
Yes, diversiy in our foods is quickly fading thanks to a system that favors big agribusiness over the small local producers.
And it doesn't affect only Americans. Thanks to NAFTA cheaply produced corn from the US has flooded Mexico and, at latest report, almost 30 percent of Mexico's small farmers have been put out of business, most of them fleeing north across the border looking for jobs, probably on the great corporate farms. The corporations make out like bandits, putting their competition out of work while sucking up the greater part of government subsidies as well.
Years ago the Soviet Union was always announcing another "five year plan" for it's collective farms, which usually failed. Isn't it strange that while capitalism has vanquished communism our own version of "collectivism" has vanquished us.
At least here in Vermont we are still putting up a fight. The traditional dairy farms are closing as Barbara mentioned, but some are re-opening as sheep and goat dairies, or have started up value added marketing such as farm cheese.
Ronald, you are right on base with taste! Small farmers can piddle with heritage breeds and varieties that are not profitable for large farms. Consumers should always check their local farmer's markets for the best tasting produce. Those items sitting on the chain grocer's shelves have been selected for appearance and shipping endurance, not taste! I love to use the tomato as an example. Those things in the grocery stores only look like tomatoes. Those of you who grow your own tomatoes will know what I am talking about! Commercial tomatoes have skin that is so thick and tough you can't chew it (but they ship thousands of miles without a blemish!). Store bought tomatoes are hard and tasteless, but that is because they are picked green so they can be tossed around on the way to the store! Delicious, sun ripened tomatoes are far too delicate for the handling.
Heidi, my husband is recovering this week from a procedure to implant a pacemaker/defibrillator. With a weakened heart, job prospects are slim. He won't be able to go back to driving a semi to supplement our income. I am not sure that I will be able to earn enough to keep the farm going either. Hard for an old woman to find much more than minimum wage, ha! But, we will tighten our belt and go on, as we always have!