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Sparkle (1)
I grew up with soybeans in my backyard and, for a while, hogs. I learned at a young age of the dangers of explosive dust and which chemical containers to stay away from and to not touch hot metal, seriously, ever. I also occasionally got to sit in a combine with my grandfather (even though it wasn't running), ride in a red wagon behind a tractor and eat sweet corn fresh out of the field. I am an Iowa girl, the daughter and granddaughter of farmers.
And so, every time I read another book about the horrors of American food production or see the trailer for Food, Inc., I get fired up.
In March, I wrote a rant on my personal blog, Surrender, Dorothy. That made me feel better for a little while. But recently, I realized it is almost time for my favorite color of green (which is the color of a cornfield right around mid-July), and I got to ruminating on how little we hear from the family farmer in the media about ... farming.
So I called up my cousin, a third-generation Iowa farmer who, along with his father -- my uncle -- still farms the land behind my parents' house as part of their 2,800-acre operation, to see what he had to say about this business of food production in America.
Define "Corporate" Farming
From the get-go, it was clear I had little idea what I was talking about. I immediately led with a question about misconceptions and referred to corporate farming, which is what I hear about a lot in the media.
"Define 'corporate,' Rita," my cousin said. "My dad and I are family farmers, but our uncle R. is corporate. Does he seem corporate to you, in the way you hear talk about corporate in the media?"
Um, no. If my uncle is a corporate farmer, then the S corp under which I write off my laserjet expenses and record the minimal income I make each year from freelancing puts me in the same "corporate" category with Meredith Corporation, applying the same standards.
I asked what he thinks the most common misconception is about farming in mainstream media.
"That there are a ton of big farms -- this idea of 'corporate' farming has been blown way out of proportion. Most farms are still family owned and run, and the stewardship of that land is very important to us."
He's right. From the USDA's Web site:
Most farms (98 percent) are family farms. Large family farms are often organized as family corporations, and these account for growing shares of farm sales, but–contrary to popular belief–the share of farms and sales accounted for by nonfamily corporations is small and has been relatively stable since 1978.
We talked a little about Food, Inc., which for the most part does portray farmers and ranchers as people who are cruel to their animals and who take unnecessary money from the government. "Listen," said my cousin. "If we abuse the land, it won't produce. God has only made so much tillable farm ground, and He isn't making any more. Without the type of farming we do now, we can't feed America. It's not just that there aren't enough people interested in walking beans -- there isn't enough land."
Farm Subsidies and the Cost of Doing Business
I've listened to nonfarmers banging on farm subsidies my whole life, and I do think that -- like welfare, like other government programs designed to help people when they need it most -- there are folks out there who abuse them. But let's first break down why they exist.
It's not easy to calculate how many acres you'd need to farm in order to quit your day job. My cousin said he needed about 1,200 acres to justify his existence on the farm, but some people would consider 5,000 acres full-time work, others 700. It depends on what you're growing, where the land is located, and how many mouths there are to feed.
"Farming is one of the few professions where you buy all your seed, equipment and chemicals retail, and you sell everything wholesale," said my cousin. He explained that he gets different kinds of government subsidies.
- The kind that built the terraces behind my parents' house.
This type is used to prevent erosion, which benefits the farmer and the surrounding community, preventing run-off
