As we continue our discussion of rural America, I want to turn our attention to one of the mainstays historically—the family farm. Time was that our rural landscape was dotted with small acreage farms and single silos. Young people considered farming as a career option—hardly now. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, just under six percent of all farmers are under the age of 35 compared to 16 percent in the eighties.
But don't think for a moment that this trend is being lost of the thousands of families that are still farming. A number of groups like the National Family Farm Coalition and the Family Farm Defenders are taking on issues that affect the future of family from immigration to global imports. Add to those the USDA's Farm Bill 2007 web page and you will learn a lot about the issues facing the United States' farms and farming communities.
Why might we care about all this? First, the farm economy is a significant source of revenue for smaller communities when you add the auxiliary services and businesses; second, farm families often are the life blood that keeps communities going; and third, as we think about our food supply why in the world would we want our food shipped for thousands of miles when we could have it freshly picked at home. On this latter point it is critical that we balance the economics of food supply with the quality of the food supply, if we want our small farmers to stay competitive.
I know that the politics abound for this topic but I also know that it is in all our interest not to have America’s farms be just mega farms. Communities need farm families as one of the key ingredients of their economic stability and indeed their civic future.
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