Farming A Vanishing Way of Life

The 2007 Census of Agriculture pointed out some inescapable facts that will affect the next few generations if we don’t take steps to reverse the trend. According to the Census, “Our agricultural landscape continues to change, but behind the numbers is also a story – a story of stewardship, hard work, and the unending fight to protect the working lands that sustain us. Every minute two acres of farmland are lost to development. Fewer and fewer farmers are able to stay on the land, and farms are increasingly facing development pressures that threaten our productive soils and our national security.”

Farm acreage has decreased by more than six million acres from 2002-2007. In 2007, 125,000 farms produced 75% of the value of U.S. agricultural production. While government payments averaged approximately $9,523 per farm, production expenses on those farms averaged a whopping $109,000.

We know these figures have not improved since 2007. Development, soaring fuel and fertilizer costs, the coming fight over who gets the available water and the looming food shortages will all impact farming in the coming years. Forget those dire predictions we’ve all heard about 2050. We might not have that long. Experts predict that by 2025, the earth will house 1.7 billion more people who will all need fed, and that 1.8 billion people will face critical water shortages. Food and water demands will continue to increase, and natural resources will become more and more precious.

In Europe and North America, farming represents less than 5% of the work force, and worldwide the total rural population continues to decrease. In 1960, five acres fed two people; by 2025, we’ll need to feed five people on those same five acres.

Thanks to technology, farmers do produce better yields using fewer resources than did their counterparts of 25 years ago. Ranchers can produce four cows using the same amount of resources that their grandparents used to grow five cows. In the past 20 years, the amount of land needed to grow a bushel of corn has dropped by 37%, a bushel of soybeans requires 26% less land than it took 20 years ago, and soil loss through corn cultivation has fallen 69% per bushel. These are just a few of the strides farmers have made in producing more food using fewer resources.

Whether technology can keep up with population pressures remains to be seen. Many scientists privately believe the technology is too little too late if we can’t put a lid on population growth. People need to realize that support of the total agricultural industry must take top priority in the years to come. If we keep relegating this crucial industry to second and third place, behind oil, behind housing development, and behind everything and anything else that comes along, our great grandchildren will face food shortages, even here in America. We need to address the issues hampering agriculture and we need to take immediate steps to rectify those issues.