I read a really crazy statistic this week about agriculture. There are more people in prison in the United States than are in production agriculture. Wow. That's a scary thought! We have somehow changed from a nation of farmers into a nation of prisoners.
It's going to be up to the next generation of agriculturists (i.e. us!) to figure out a way to turn this trend around. We can't keep letting the number of farmers and ranchers in America decrease. I recently read a study that talked about the most comon reasons that "farm kids" decided not to return to the farm. What do you think? The top three reasons were: (1) Other jobs offered more income; (2) the high start-up costs required in order to begin farming; and (3) the high cost of renting land.
Farm kids don't leave the farm because they don't want to farm. They don't leave because they are lazy or uninterested in the operation. They leave because they have to. That's something that is simply unacceptable and we have to figure out a way to curb this problem!
We cannot afford to be dependant on foreign countries for our food supply. Right now, one American farmer can feed 129 people. This is up from 25 people in 1960. Without a doubt, the American farmer and rancher continues to become more productive and more efficient. American agriculture can feed the world, but we have to continue to HAVE farmers and ranchers. If young people are unable to afford to get started farming, we'll be out of farms in no time. We have to find a way to invest in American agriculture in order to allow new farmers and ranchers to realize their dream of farming and to protect our nation.
There are some programs out there to help young farmers and ranchers financially, but not enough. We, as a society, are going to have to figure out a way to support the next generation of agriculture. This industry is so important, not only to our national economy, but for national security as well. Thi sis an investment in our future that this country is going to have to make.
Hopefully in the future, we can become a nation of farmers again.
It's going to be up to the next generation of agriculturists (i.e. us!) to figure out a way to turn this trend around. We can't keep letting the number of farmers and ranchers in America decrease. I recently read a study that talked about the most comon reasons that "farm kids" decided not to return to the farm. What do you think? The top three reasons were: (1) Other jobs offered more income; (2) the high start-up costs required in order to begin farming; and (3) the high cost of renting land.
Farm kids don't leave the farm because they don't want to farm. They don't leave because they are lazy or uninterested in the operation. They leave because they have to. That's something that is simply unacceptable and we have to figure out a way to curb this problem!
We cannot afford to be dependant on foreign countries for our food supply. Right now, one American farmer can feed 129 people. This is up from 25 people in 1960. Without a doubt, the American farmer and rancher continues to become more productive and more efficient. American agriculture can feed the world, but we have to continue to HAVE farmers and ranchers. If young people are unable to afford to get started farming, we'll be out of farms in no time. We have to find a way to invest in American agriculture in order to allow new farmers and ranchers to realize their dream of farming and to protect our nation.
There are some programs out there to help young farmers and ranchers financially, but not enough. We, as a society, are going to have to figure out a way to support the next generation of agriculture. This industry is so important, not only to our national economy, but for national security as well. Thi sis an investment in our future that this country is going to have to make.
Hopefully in the future, we can become a nation of farmers again.
2 comments:
Awesome post, Tiff.
I am going to use my law degree to subsidize the purchase of my small farm. =) The trick is finding someone to teach you how to farm. Maybe you could blog about that? I need a step-by-step "how-to" guide telling me everything. For example, if I want to grow a grass-fed cow, what type of grass should I plant for it to eat? (I kind of need to know soon)
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