Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Disappearing Act
After a long and intentional time away from blogdom, I post this.
Part of the purpose of this blog was to express modern ag issues and highlights. So this post will follow suit.
The 'family farm' is disappearing. Not really a debate unless you disagree on what the term 'family farm' means. Many, if not all, blame technology on this disappeance, but I think that arguement is trivial and superficial.
First, because 'nonfamily farms' don't have the corner on technology. It's accessible to everybody. Tractors, milking equipment, refrigeration, cell phones, computers, and software are only quick examples of on-farm technology.
The REAL issue with the disappearance of 'family farms' is...hold your hat...kids don't want to farm! I know that's quite revolutionary, but bear with me. Like any business, if little Billy doesn't want to own a widget factory, he'll find something else to do. The failure then to keep farms is with farmers themselves, not politcians, bankers, coops, inspectors, or anyone else you can gripe to. To blame technology is like stating that my car ran out of gas, not becuase I didn't fill it up, but because there wasn't a gas station right where I stalled.
Inevitiably when someone says 'family farm' we all think of bib overalls and 20 or 30 cows; farming the old fashion way (whatever that is). Why can't a family farm be 200 cows? or 3000? Really, what's at odds here? If you think about it objectively, nothing is contrary. Unless we accuse Job of not being a 'family farmer' with 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, and 1,000 donkeys. In my opinion family farming has become a buzz word at best and an idol at worst.
Part of the purpose of this blog was to express modern ag issues and highlights. So this post will follow suit.
The 'family farm' is disappearing. Not really a debate unless you disagree on what the term 'family farm' means. Many, if not all, blame technology on this disappeance, but I think that arguement is trivial and superficial.
First, because 'nonfamily farms' don't have the corner on technology. It's accessible to everybody. Tractors, milking equipment, refrigeration, cell phones, computers, and software are only quick examples of on-farm technology.
The REAL issue with the disappearance of 'family farms' is...hold your hat...kids don't want to farm! I know that's quite revolutionary, but bear with me. Like any business, if little Billy doesn't want to own a widget factory, he'll find something else to do. The failure then to keep farms is with farmers themselves, not politcians, bankers, coops, inspectors, or anyone else you can gripe to. To blame technology is like stating that my car ran out of gas, not becuase I didn't fill it up, but because there wasn't a gas station right where I stalled.
Inevitiably when someone says 'family farm' we all think of bib overalls and 20 or 30 cows; farming the old fashion way (whatever that is). Why can't a family farm be 200 cows? or 3000? Really, what's at odds here? If you think about it objectively, nothing is contrary. Unless we accuse Job of not being a 'family farmer' with 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, and 1,000 donkeys. In my opinion family farming has become a buzz word at best and an idol at worst.
Monday, June 20, 2005
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