Have we all been duped?

[Logan52]

Over the years I have accumulated a large number of old agricultural books from the period of around 1870 through the 1940s. They display a reverence for the land and an almost religious devotion to the lifestyle and vocation of farming that is absent in similar publications today. I suppose the bitter hard times of the depression shook this approach out of people's minds as much as anything and made them open to "scientific" methods of farming that were supposedly going to make things so much better.
Sometimes I wonder, wonder if all the advancements I have seen have only served to empty the countryside of people and enrich the few at the cost of the many.
We have EPDs for selecting our bulls and expensive mineral mixes that control flies, but how many families are able to live off the returns of a cattle operation?
Corn growers can grow huge crops with sprays and seed that has been genetically manipulated and spend the winter in Florida while their topsoil flows down the Mississippi. Only the leveraged few can make even this work, and then only by the force of government through ill planned programs that burn their excess crops for fuel.
I wonder if we have not been duped and that our country was stronger when large families grew up on farms and the product they were most proud of was the men and women that these children became.

 

[Buck Randall]

You can still maintain the same quality of life on a small cattle operation that a farmer could in 1870. The problem isn't that agriculture changed, it's that people don't want to live like it's 1870 any more. The Amish do just fine, but I'm not planning on adopting that lifestyle.

 

[greybeard]

Yes, some people have indeed been duped...some, very recently.
You can see them with their mouth's watering in Whole Foods.

 

[TexasBred]

Population of the world was less than 2 billion at the time of the depression. 'nuff said.

 

[Nesikep]

Population of the world was less than 2 billion at the time of the depression. 'nuff said.

So was the gov't budget (ok, not quite but close!)

 

[Hippie Rancher]

this is kind of related - http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/america-loves-the-idea-of-family-farms-thats-unfortunate.html

 

[backhoeboogie]

this is kind of related - http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/america-loves-the-idea-of-family-farms-thats-unfortunate.html

Yes and no. My grandfather ran cattle all his life. He never had squeeze chutes or fancy equipment. He used a medina that was more like the chute bull riders come out of at a rodeo. It was effective if you knew what you were doing. Both sets of grandparents had chickens. Occasional pigs to clean out the garden. They had gardens. They had peach trees, plums, figs, pecans and a few others scrambled in. My maternal grandfather would harvest 4 to 5,000 gallons of boysenberries every year and it was a cash crop. People came for miles to buy them.

They did not have all the overhead or fancy equipment or costs associated with it. They did have rotary tillers. 8N tractors etc. When it was time to "put up" a hog, uncles would come by and we'd get it done. In a hurry.

That generation was practical and they wasted nothing. They didn't hire things done but they were quick to jump in and help neighbors and neighbors helped them.

It is a different mind set. A different way of life back then too.

I like A/C . I am spoiled. I am not sure I would want to sit out under the pecan tree and shell a bushel of peas like I used to when I was a kid. My grandkids would not shell their share either like we did.

Green Giant corn can afford to live with a $300 per acre profit. I cannot live on that because I do not have enough land or equipment. Therefore I cannot compete with them. If I owned the land, it would be a different story.

 

[HDRider]

Calve prices barely cover the cost to carry the cow

 

[Little Cow]

I think there are several reasons.

The spiritual has been eliminated from most of public life.

Most people came from farms back then. Now, it's very few and they think farming is easy. A disdain towards farmers began with the invention of suburbs and has only gotten worse. We're just dumb hillbillies/hicks/rednecks, etc...

In the not so old days, Democrats stood up for farmers and rural areas had pro life Democrats. That animal is extinct, I believe. I still know some old party Democrats, but most have changed over. It's whole 'nother mean world now as far as politics. I don't want to discuss specifics about the parties. I don't like any politicians.

 

[sstterry]

I think there are several reasons.

The spiritual has been eliminated from most of public life.

Most people came from farms back then. Now, it's very few and they think farming is easy. A disdain towards farmers began with the invention of suburbs and has only gotten worse. We're just dumb hillbillies/hicks/rednecks, etc...

In the not so old days, Democrats stood up for farmers and rural areas had pro life Democrats. That animal is extinct, I believe. I still know some old party Democrats, but most have changed over. It's whole 'nother mean world now as far as politics. I don't want to discuss specifics about the parties. I don't like any politicians.

The small farmer is not a large enough voting bloc to make the difference politically. In the midwest, the large scale row croppers are but not the mom and pop small cattle producers. These days, everything boils down to the optics of the politics.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

The majority here, """me included" ...are in it for the love of it..if I've been duped,its of my own doing..

 

[Nesikep]

I think there are several reasons.

The spiritual has been eliminated from most of public life.

Most people came from farms back then. Now, it's very few and they think farming is easy. A disdain towards farmers began with the invention of suburbs and has only gotten worse. We're just dumb hillbillies/hicks/rednecks, etc...

In the not so old days, Democrats stood up for farmers and rural areas had pro life Democrats. That animal is extinct, I believe. I still know some old party Democrats, but most have changed over. It's whole 'nother mean world now as far as politics. I don't want to discuss specifics about the parties. I don't like any politicians.

The small farmer is not a large enough voting bloc to make the difference politically. In the midwest, the large scale row croppers are but not the mom and pop small cattle producers. These days, everything boils down to the optics of the politics.

The small farmer is not rich enough to make the correct political donations!

 

[Aaron]

People used to farm out of necessity. As soon as other options for jobs became available, most left. People weren't stupid, they knew it was a miserable existence to farm back then. There was a family on every 160 acres in this area and some on even smaller parcels than that. The Depression drove out close to a 1/4 by the late 1930's. Then an iron mine opened 3 hours away in 1943 and close to 1/2 left in the 10 years that followed. A man could make more in one month at the mine then he could in an entire year on the farm. Majority that left abandoned the farms entirely. School boards and municipalities were nervous as the tax revenue took a huge hit. No one had extra money to be buying tax sale properties locally, so all of the empty properties were bundled and sold to an investment firm in Toronto around 1952, which then sold them to American investors. Many of those properties are still owned by those same investor families. Two 160 acre parcels down the road from me were both bought for less than $70 in 1952.

My grandparents lived 30 miles from the nearest town of a few hundred people and went to town once a week in the 1950's/60's. They were considered fairly well-off. Most couldn't consider such a drive that often. Lots didn't even have vehicles. Today people drive 4 times that distance to work and back, every day, and think nothing of it.

 

[bball]

The majority here, """me included" ...are in it for the love of it..if I've been duped,its of my own doing..

Pretty much nailed it.

 

[Redgully]

Back then you were old at 50 and dead by 70, if you made until your 90s you were a freak. You could die from a small cut as no antibiotics.
Dances were well attended as that was pretty much your only socialising. It all sounds romantic but i think today is a much better way of life.

 

[Ebenezer]

Disasters move people. Depressions, floods, droughts, disease, ... When we look back at labor intensive systems we forget that the bottom end of the rung was labor for cheap prices. Talk bad about their farming practices but either they did not know, could not afford or were following traditions. Land around here was in cotton for most of 100+ years. There would have been a little corn planted to feed mules or feed a few hogs but cotton was king. The land shows the effects. I laugh at the shows on public TV that show the greatness of European countries and know that so many came to the USA to get away from the oppression and starvation that made that a place to be from; yet it is portrayed as a wonderful place time after time with rich heritage and warmth!

Current issues that cause boundaries to some of that lifestyle are increased taxes including property taxes for off the land support including public schools, control on animal slaughter and also government control and fear of lawsuits from direct sales of food products.

All of the good ol days were not good ol days. One of my grandfathers used to talk about ol' man Sam Anderson who farmed nearby. My grandfather was in his late 80's and my mother got him to go by a local cemetery one time on the discussion of another person but really to let Grandpa "find" the stone for Mr. Anderson. Grandpa saw the stone, and went over to see how old ol' Mr. Sam Anderson was when he died. He died when he was in his 60's.

In many ways, the people in the USA today who farm or own land to farm are a repeat of the Native Americans. As government and non-connected people need the land, the resources or the wealth they find ways to take it.

 

[HDRider]

I think there are several reasons.

The spiritual has been eliminated from most of public life.

Most people came from farms back then. Now, it's very few and they think farming is easy. A disdain towards farmers began with the invention of suburbs and has only gotten worse. We're just dumb hillbillies/hicks/rednecks, etc...

In the not so old days, Democrats stood up for farmers and rural areas had pro life Democrats. That animal is extinct, I believe. I still know some old party Democrats, but most have changed over. It's whole 'nother mean world now as far as politics. I don't want to discuss specifics about the parties. I don't like any politicians.

I agree. I grew up on a row crop farm. I know how hard Dad and my Grandpa's worked. I was away from it for almost 40 years. We are back now, and the weather, the government, the costs are all killing the farmer, and yet they persevere. They are big farms now, with bigger challenges.

Americans do not give the farmers and ranchers the respect they deserve, and God knows they don't get the prices they need.

 

[cowrancher75]

my old barber was like 90 yrs old.. cut crooked as could be but i liked the guy.. told me stories about growing up in ky. told me how his mom would pass out putting in the garden.. come back around and get right back to work. told me how bad times were.. and said.. yea.. these are the good days.. those weren't.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Somewhat similiar on the south side of the border. Some left to jobs in the city, some left for jobs in the taconite mines, others expanded diaries until the recent margin squeeze. Individual producers struggle w/o family labor.

I think there are a couple differences here, mostly because we are wooded and within 3 hours of Minneapolis:
1) A few frugal families have put together paid for operations over the last 3 generations. They have newer equipment, multiple workers with some time off, and tend to buy or lease adjoining land as it becomes available. I don't think they are duped.
2) We get "investors" from the twin cities who buying hunting land to plant trees, and put up a cabin or a toy shed. Seems to be the greater fool finance at work.
3) We still have some light manufacturing and food processing left to support weekend farmers. Lund/Crestliner boat works is the biggest one.

Several folks mentioned family living costs for full time producers. The other issue is inflated asset prices in the US. Our government policies have made non factory farms uncompetitive in many cases.

What is the ROI for your operation? I was at + 2.7% last year. I thought that was low, but some here are negative...

 

[shaz]

I think there are several reasons.

The spiritual has been eliminated from most of public life.

Most people came from farms back then. Now, it's very few and they think farming is easy. A disdain towards farmers began with the invention of suburbs and has only gotten worse. We're just dumb hillbillies/hicks/rednecks, etc...

In the not so old days, Democrats stood up for farmers and rural areas had pro life Democrats. That animal is extinct, I believe. I still know some old party Democrats, but most have changed over. It's whole 'nother mean world now as far as politics. I don't want to discuss specifics about the parties. I don't like any politicians.

I agree. I grew up on a row crop farm. I know how hard Dad and my Grandpa's worked. I was away from it for almost 40 years. We are back now, and the weather, the government, the costs are all killing the farmer, and yet they persevere. They are big farms now, with bigger challenges.

Americans do not give the farmers and ranchers the respect they deserve, and God knows they don't get the prices they need.

Suburban folks don't understand us at all. I can't relate to them either. They'll always say stuff like "Did you see that football game and Saturday" - "No, I have to haul firewood and feed calves"