by Lori Rieger

Created on: May 01, 2008   Last Updated: May 07, 2008

Modern Agriculture and the Death of Rural America

It may not be the case all over, but in the Dakota's small farmers and small towns are vanishing. Why? The reasons are too numerous to fully detail. But there are several that stand out as monumental causes for the end result.

First, rural Americans in this part of the country are stubborn. They do not like nor welcome change. There has always been one way and one way only to do things here. So, small communities die because there was never a contingency plan to fall back on when the agricultural industry changed. As the number of practicing farmers declines, so does the populations of these communities. Eventually businesses and basic services can't survive anymore and a domino effect of out migration takes place.

So, why is the number of farmers declining so drastically? It's simple, really - Money. If you don't farm big here, you don't farm for long here. Government programs are meant to benefit large producers and big spenders. Prices on basic necessities such as fuel and equipment are through the roof. Land owners are asking increasingly high rental prices. And while chemical farming has allowed increased gains in production, chemicals are expensive and often dangerous. All of this adds up to lots of money and the small farmer has now become the hobby farmer.

Whose fault is all this? No ones really. It's the natural evolution of the industry. Were we better off when there were more small farms? No doubt. Were we better off before producers began using chemical to not only increase production but also to expedite the harvest? Absolutely. But farming is a business and like other businesses, the larger company usually holds the capital advantage. And, after all, money makes the world go around.

There are no easy answers as to what's happening in these rural areas and certainly none that will be readily accepted by a culture that both fears and hates change. Still, it may all be a matter of perspective. Can the American farmer began to view himself in a global economy? In order for a small family operation to take root, it will have to develop it's own market. Appeal directly to the consumer and form workable relationships with other farmers that are focused more on business then political meandering for government funding.

Actually, as the consumer demands healthier food choices, we could see a new page in American Agriculture. Without chemical, many large operations couldn't handle the amount of land they now farm. And if the market were producer direct to consumer driven, it would provide for a better price to the producer and a more competitive price to the end user. The American supply chain has too many links in it.

The best answer we can give to the question of how to save rural America is that we need to become an educated society as to where and how our food sources are being produced. We need to be open to a farmer's market mentality where smaller production is more profitable and better quality. We need to advocate changes in government spending and sufficiently award farmers for their efforts. Our greatest strength in this country is that we have sufficient and diverse enough resources that we should never have to go hungry as a nation. We need to not only preserve our rural culture - we need to bring it back.

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