how much is left?

[cat236]

I went down to my friends farm today,he just had major surgery on his spine and will be down for awhile, I went to check property as I will arrange to have fields planted this year for him.The community in which he lives has a long heritage of farming as this was the key occupation of most of the inhabitants.Now just a bunch of suburbanites that drive 40- 60 miles to work each day, so they can live in this bustlin community.This community with a distinguished past now "discourages" such affiliation with its heritage, they want to be known as a major metropolitan area, with high end homes, not Sod Busters.They have tried to annex my friends land in to "City Limits". His is the last, and one of the oldest working farms in this community.As his health declines he is ready to quit fighting it,in addition the latest offers he recieved make it all but impossible,at around 22,500 and acre nothing but planting houses will produce an income such as this for him.As a nation will we be able to produce our traditional crops, as well as a growing demand for bio diesel, and ethanol crops all at the same time?Is there a website or resource to find out how many tillabe acres are in a given community? My heart sank as I think of our future.I grew up on a large production farm in Iowa. I saw the transition from the diversity of crops and livestock to either or,for the most part, as the livestock prices plummeted years ago.My uncle just added 120 acres this last year,I crunched the numbers and quickly saw he would likely not realize any profit on the new ground for many years to come. I love the old iron, and the old way of life,and am sickened by the world I live in today.

 

[Anonymous-0]

We are farming less acres with less people and still have record caryovers and on top of that 27 mill A in CRP so what are you worrying about. Put the money on the table and watch the FARMER produce food just quit worrying about the price of a loaf of bread when driving your 35,000 SUV tothe store for food.

 

[Jack a]

Get used to it. Free trade such as NAFTA and the like along with pro big business policies has created this and is doing the same to most other countries as well. It cuts across party lines. Take a look at the 20 to 30 year old crowd. They don't care about farmers and don't really care where their food comes from as long as it is "fairly" safe. Even then they don't pay attention. I used to farm but now hobby it and work in town with this new generation. They like big cities and think I'm crazy for having a few head of cattle and a few acres to farm. Maybe they are right and I'm just gonna worry myself to an early grave.

 

[kyplowboy]

It's getting like that all over. My honey hole squirel woods now has 3 houses in it. Something is going to have to give one of these days. Like some one else said, these people are not going to be able to keep things up at the rate we are going. I too have to scratch my head at the people who drive 3/4 ton suv's 30 miles at these gas prices to fuss about the price of eggs. Don't know when the boom is going to go to bust but I fear it's going to be ugly when it does.

Dave

 

[Dennis (VA)]

Want to stop it. Raise the gas tax so they can't afford the commute. Everyone thinks high gas prices in Europe are crazy; but, one affect is preservation of farms amd small towns.

 

[Howard H.]

I agree more with Gene... There is still tremendous reserve capacity for farm production. Plus, the higher grain prices go, farmers will figure out better and better ways to squeeze out higher yields.

Besides, it is just change - you just have to roll with the punches. What do you think the native Indians thought of the original farmers moving in?? Change is always going to be there.

Not sure what NAFTA has to do with Suburbanites chewing up farm ground - but the flip side of that is the folks doing that are enjoying their slice of the American dream!! The squirrel hunting and farm heritage may be disappearing in certain areas, but it's because so many people have the opportunity and means to pursue their dreams. That is a lot of why America is one of the greatest places to live in the world.

It is precisely because we all (speaking of Americans as a whole) have such a high standard of living that all this is happening.

Just my opinion,
Howard

 

[Anonymous-0]

It happens everywhere, I live in lake country where there used to be lots of family owned resorts, then one day people started buying lakeshore for outrageous amounts of money. It drove the taxes so high that the only people that can afford any amount of lakeshore more than 100 feet are the Church camps and non proffits. Its too bad but the old daysa are gone forever.

 

[Dave from MN]

I dont think there is any one in a political office than will make a stand for the Small American Family Farm, thus the trend for small farms turning into housing, corperate farms grabbing up the rest. Some day we WILL see a world wide food shortage, some day agriculture WILL be one of the top income careers, but small farmers will be a small percentage that will reap the benifits because there will be so few and politics will make it a red tape nightmare for them. All we can do is hope and pray that MORE younger, and older people start up small farms again here and there and eventually reverse the trend. Many actually are doing that, I am one, but I am in highly pressured area for development, housing, commercial, and not 3/4 mile away they zoned a 40 acre peice as industrial. So I am gonna farm y little peice and few others untill I know what I am doing and I can sell this place for enough to buy a much bigger farm, in a county far from this one, and hopefully that one can be handed down to my boys, or the daughter. It weird to see a house for sale on 5 acres across the road( which isnt selling,YAY!) with an asking price more than I payed for my land, home, and layer barn combined.

 

[JT]

But, if the Suburbunites are going to move into the areas we have lived in for hundreds of years, they need to adapt to our way of life and quit complaining every time the roads are not interstate smooth, the cattle/hog farm down the road gets a little rank, a little dust gets stirred up when doing field work, the tractor/combine is slowing them down and they cannot get to their hair appointment. My biggest problem, repsect, city folk who move to the "country" think because that big field is there and bare, it make a good place to go 4 wheeling. Don't try to make us conform to their way of life!!! They also need to bring about 5 tons of common sense with them if they want the "country" lifestyle. Most I run into don't have 5 pounds combined.
Jim

 

[Animal]

It just seems strange to me that people will pay a dollar for a bottle of water and never bat an eye, and complain about the cost of a gallon of milk while sipping on a $5 cocktail!

 

[Howard H.]

I know what you mean - a friend of mine up east of Denver finally had to buy two sets of farm equipment because it got so difficult to cross the main highway that bisected his farm. He finally sold out - not sure if he got the $22K per acre originally mentioned or not - but he did pretty well...

Dad's had his place out in the country for 40 years now - this year a family moved a house in to the section next to him - started feeding the deer - and now have been telling all the neighbors to not let anyone hunt around.

They put up "no hunting" signs all around - including on the highline pole on Dad's place that joins their place - making it look like Dad put up the sign... Amazing the deer even survived before they arrived to save the day...


Howard

 

[rrlund]

I don't know,I'm torn on this one. As for producing enough,I watch the big guys around here,am good friends with some of the largest. They get a real kick out of me by the way. They laugh and say that according to the universities,I shouldn't even exist. But I see the production that they get. I can't begin to match it. They have the economy of scale to produce more for less. I can give you a perfect example. There is a 2500 cow dairy just west of me,between here and Greenville shipping three and a half tanker loads of milk a day. When the dairy business was dying around here,my dad used to brag of the days when he would get a load of canned milk between here and Greenville. And that was off of probably 20 farms. Keep in mind,that was probably 100 cans averaging 72 pounds of milk. Figure there were probably 2 people working each of those farms with 20-30 tractors. Now,they grow all the feed for those 2500 cows with 3 tractors and three people. There might be 10 working at the dairy itself. Do the math on how much more milk is being produced per man hour,not to mention the feed being produced per acre and man hour. It's staggering. Now,take the land that they don't work,farmsteads with a few odd shaped acres around them,other small fields that are too small for their equipment. The economic DEPRESSION here in Michigan has caused those places to be farmed the way they used to be,a few head of livestock for personal use. I'm just not too worried about it. I'm seeing the cycle come around full circle.

 

[John (MO)]

As long as people keep breeding more people, farm ground is going to continue to be turned into housing developments. That is, up until the point that we become threatened with starvation, or some disease caused by over population cuts our numbers way down.

 

[Dave from MN]

Well herea question of opinion or fact. What is better for the US economy, a trend of increasing # of smaller(more productive and efficient than the past) diverse family farms running 40-600 acres, or the opposite less small farms and more and more mega farms. I am no economists, but I would thing an increase in smaller well managed farms would be better for the economy as far as spreading the wealth.

 

[35A]

We live in central Ohio. When I was a kid in the 50s this was still a rural farming area. We had 2 John Deere dealers within 20 miles. Same with Ford, Massey Harris, MM, JI Case, Oliver, AC. The 'old timers' are all gone and so are their farms. Only a handful of farms remain today and only one is full time. Nearest 'real' John Deere dealer is 50 miles away. [ I don't include lawn & garden}. Land in this area is gently rolling & a 50 acre field was a big one. Perfect for farming the 'old way' but it would take longer to move today's combine into the field than it would to run the field. Some areas of Ohio are flat with large fields. Mostly north & west of central Ohio. Very much like Indiana, Illinois, Iowa. If we need to conserve farm land, then it had better be these areas. The little farms with small fields = small incomes [notice I did'nt say profits]. We can't go back to the old ways, no one today would want to live like my grandparents lived. [ no running water in the house, out house, milk by hand, and many other jobs done by hand]. Technology will someday meet it's limits I think. You can only push Mother nature so far before she turns and wacks you. Conserve those large flat areas!!! We can't import our food and stay a free nation!!

 

[rustyj]

When we moved into our little Cape Cod cottage, 12 miles from town, you could see for a long way--no tract houses, or housing plans, or Inetrstate hiways, and we could hunt in our back woods. that was 1950!
Now, the whole area is houses, businesses, parks, yuppies galore, and today i read where the Feds want to put on a .40 cents a gallon tax on gasoline! And our esteemed ?? Governor thinks we should be paying much more in gasoline taxes, too! At the rate they're going, i'm going to have to buy another motorcycle, or scooter, to even go shopping! And a rickshaw for the wife!

 

[DW in indy]

You don't even want to get me started. It just makes me think about everything my dad told me when we were kids about the direction this country was going in has come true and we thought he was nuts and didn't know what he was talking about.What scares me is if he is still right about the next 40 years. It only gets worse and the American people just stand by and watch as they still vote these jerks into office.
It's a shame how this country is being ruined for the all mighty dollar.

 

[Dave from MN]

Amen brother!

 

[730 virgil]

you must live in il.

 

[730 virgil]

when i was 11 or 12 about 1960 freeport il had at least 4 tractor dealers i can think of at 3 more in the county. i think every brand other than cockshutt had at least one dealer in stephenson co. il.
now there is ONE dealer in freeport and that is john deere.

 

[lars-PA]

Land use/sprawl has been an issue that has been really important to me for the past 10 years or so. In fact I returned to school to get my masters to work with people regarding land use.

We've made a lot of mistakes regarding land use. Alot of has been due in part to the laziness of developers, politicians, etc. Alot if it still comes down to the fact that it is still cheap to build on farmland, even when land is 22k an acre. What gets me the most is that no one is willing to make a long term regional plan and stick to it. I don't think people really realize that once you decide to develop an acre of ag land it is gone forever. There is no real way to bring it back.

The more socialist countries of Europe are actually doing something about it. I believe that the Dutch model plans for natural resources and farmland first, transportation second, and housing last. A lot is done to keep farmers farming and put housing growth in it's place. It's certainly not a free-market system but it is very advantageous to farmers.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Just got a 1947 A model serial # 210513 that I am starting to restore. she has a Muffler lift !! Kool set-up but a little WEAK..Is there a repair kit for the valve ?? , OR is the distance from the valve TO the cylinder make a difference in performance ??.I've got a long flexable tube, 4 times longer than it needs to be ? PLEASE Help me lift a small scraper