Farming Problems Essay Example For Students

Farming Problems Essay The complexion of farming is changing radically. The land cannot support as manyfarm families as it did in an earlier time. Small farms are being consolidatedinto larger ones. General farms, with several kinds of crops and a barnyard offarm animals, are yielding to specialty farms that concentrate on a single majorcrop. Family farms are declining; corporate farms are increasing. Efficiency isgrowing. Crops are changing. Techniques are improving. Just as the train,tractor, truck, and airplane changed farm life in the past, the computer androbotics are expected to change farm life in the future (AOL, 1997). And theoutcome of this is that during the early 1980s and continuing, the farmerssource of income is indeed being stripped from him. What was once the only meansof survival for these farmers, has now become distant memory. Farming techniquesare undergoing tremendous changes. Farming will surely become more efficientthroughout the world. It will also become more scientific and, in th e processperhaps lose some of its romance. People who formerly lived on farms and havefond memories of their rural childhood will barely recognize the new farms. Forfarmers of the future, it will not be enough to know how to drive a tractor andplow a straight furrow. Farmers must change with the industry, as it becomesincreasingly more sophisticated. The farmer must become more of a specialist tocompete in the marketplace. This is a reason why many of todays farm familiesare on a decline; that is, that todays farmers are not able to purchase thelatest machinery or equipment, for they have to be cautious about where they puttheir money. The 1980s sometimes referred to as the farm crisisdecade of the 1980s, while the 1970s were referred to as the boomyears. It was in this time period that farms expanded in size and farmnumbers dropped. But in the 1980s, two unusual things happened. First, olderfarmers seemed to stay in farming longer. Some who might have retired didntwant to sell thei r land in a depressed market, unless forced by a lender. Second, some middle aged farm families with children who might succeed themquit, or discourage their children from pursuing a farming career. Other youngerfarmers who had recently borrowed to start farming or to expand their businesseswere caught in the interest rate squeeze and forced out of business (Looker1996, pp9). This fed the decline of family farms, for children, who grew up onfarms, did not wish to take upon a career as a farmer, but venture into the citylooking for better work and wages, effects that the farm life couldnt give. Thedecline of the family farm has been heralded for decades, as growing numbers ofpeople moved from the country top the city, and then to the suburbs. Accordingto an article in the USA Today, a 32-year-old dairy farmer from Fort Plain,N.Y., says You can get an 8 to 5 job, make a good living and still have(spare) time, and in the dairy business, there are huge cycles in prices. Justabout the time youve caught up from a down cycle, another one comesal ong. This illustrates why young people are leaving the farm in searchfor better living conditions and money. Both the farmers and the academicexperts talk about the key role of money in the decline of the family farm. The evolution towards larger farms and more sophisticated equipment putsthe initial investment far out of reach for most young people. Itsnot a small business anymore, says John Scott, farm management and landeconomics professor at the University of Illinois-Champaign. And becausefarming is risky dependant on the weather, at the mercy of crop and livestockdiseases and victim of wild price swings-banks are unwilling to lend money tofinance startup operations, especially after the disastrous defaults of the late1970s and early 1980s, when high interest rate plowed under many farms andleft lender without uncorrectable debts. (USA Today) This shows us howhard it is for farmers to receive credit, to keep the operation of a farmworking. And without this credit, many farmers face the inevitable, that is,closing and selling their farmland. Farmers, however, do receive aid from theGovernment, to help them with competing prices. According to an article in thePhiladelphia Tribune, it says that if the Congressional BudgetReconciliation Act now awaiting presidential action is enacted, the historicalAmerican farm family will finally vanish. The Reconciliation Act mandatesa $13.4 billion cut in agriculture over the next seven years. Most of the cutswould effect family farmers who already suffer from a poverty rate twice that oftheir urban neighbors. For decades, farmers have been plagued by the lowmarket prices for their crops. Between 1982 and 1993: those prices rose only7.5%, yet what they had to pay for agriculture inputs went up 23%, more thanthree times what they earned selling their crops. Under the Reconciliation Act,decline farmers supports payments over the seven years will worsen the familyslot. Family farming has always been a hard way to make a living. Since it isgetting even harder, more and more people are fleeting farming for citylife. (Philadelphia Tribune) There is also the problem of competition forthe land. In Illinois, for example, the average farm size w ent up by 40 acres in10 years, but total farmland in the state actually declined because more landhas been urbanized. Much of the farmland was taken over by the suburbandevelopment, retail centers, and the setup of business offices. This occurregularly where farmers were unable to pay back their loans, therefore, largecorporations would take over the land, and build infrastructures. Agribusinessalso posed a threat to many family farms. Agribusiness is the name for thesector of the economy that purchases and processes agricultural commodities andoften produces them and fabricates and sells agricultural production materialsand equipment. During the winter of 1978-79, the nation capital, Washington, wasa host to one of the largest demonstrations in years. The protest came fromfamily farmers, in the heartland of America, who had organized a trader-cadeto Washington and were blocking traffic in the capital. The protest was to callattention to the crisis in the U.S. agriculture system, wh ich threatened thesurvival of the family farm, and this is one of the implications agribusinesshas on the family farm. The numbers of family owned and operated farms has longbeen on the decline, and those who are likely to survive the crisis are largeagribusiness corporations. An additional implication is the cost price squeezesituation. This is where farmers are caught between declining farm prices andrising costs. Farmers are constantly trying to increase productivity, but indoing so tend to overproduce for the market, driving down prices and incomes. Downsizing EssayRobot harvesters will carry out high-speed picking, grading, packaging andpreparation of crops for market. The beginnings of such system are already inexistence (AOL 1997). This may all sound a bit absurd, but this id the way thingare looking right now. Technology has taken over many of the operations of thedaily farm routines, and it will continue to do so in the future. Despitetechnology playing an important part in farming, so does family farms becoming acapitalist unit of agricultural production. The development of U.S. agricultureis generating the transformation of agricultural working class in three day. First, as the growing size and industrialization of successful farms makesfamily labor insufficient, more farms are becoming capitalist, hiring permanentemployees. Second, mechanization of harvesting and other labor-intensive tasksis lessening the demand foe seasonal labor (Burbach 1980, pp.37). This shows,how family farms, since they cannot meet the labor input needed, have to becomecapitalist, joining other farms in an agribusiness firm. Overall, the U.S. family farm cannot survive as the dominant form of agricultural production. Theyare constantly struggling against the encroaching power of the banks, thecorporations, and the large-scale agribusiness firms. Ultimately the remainingfamily farmers, the farm workers and the other sectors of the U.S. working classhave to assume control of both agriculture and industry and forge a newagriculture system that takes into consideration the needs of the vast majorityof the American people (Burbach 1980, pp.12). In conclusion, as farming in theU.S. continues to evolve, it bring with it obstacles that would deter all butthe most devoted young people. Americas family farms are flirting withextinction as the young people priced out by huge startup costs and scared offby backbreaking responsibility- increasingly find other ways to make a living. On sum, despite setbacks, the intergenerational family farm remained animportant institution in the open country corn belt. However, over a period ofdecades, farm families experienced what amounted to a shake out in land tenure,the reorganization of farm finance, and in some cases a search for alternativesources of income. Despite being on the decline, there are still some familyfarms hanging in there. From the words of a Willow Springs, Mo. Hog raiser,this is a great way of life if you dont have to depend on it totally fora living. Bibliography A.V Krebs. Budget bill perils farm families. Philadephia Tribune, The. 12-12-95. Burbach, Roger, and Flynn, Patricia. Agribusiness in the Americas. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1980. Freidberger,Mark. Shake-Out. Kentucky, Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1989. K.V. Johnson. Family Farms Rapidly Slipping into history. USA Today, 02-07-1995. Looker, Dan. Farmers for the Future. United States of Ameriace: Iowa StateUniversity press, 1996. Williams, Simon. Agribusiness and the small scalefarmer. Boulder: West View press, 1985. Farming: Future. America Online, 1995. BibliographyA.V Krebs. Budget bill perils farm families. Philadephia Tribune, The. 12-12-95. Burbach, Roger, and Flynn, Patricia. Agribusiness in the Americas. NewYork: Monthly Review Press, 1980. Freidberger, Mark. Shake-Out. Kentucky,Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1989. K.V. Johnson. Family FarmsRapidly Slipping into history. USA Today, 02-07-1995. Looker, Dan. Farmers forthe Future. United States of Ameriace: Iowa State University press, 1996. Williams, Simon. Agribusiness and the small scale farmer. Boulder: West Viewpress, 1985. Farming: Future. America Online, 1995.