Why is farming so scarce?

Question

i went to an agrictural school in danvers mass,in the early eighties,farming was very big,went to a reunion this year,and the school is still there,but no farming,i took animal science when i went to school,now they don't have nearly any animals,no vegatable garden,is farming a thing of the past?

Answer 1

There are so many factors in the demise of farming that it's hard to answer your question.  For the past 5 decades farmers have been told to "get big or get out" and all this has led to is debt and ruin for most of them.  Industrial farming is destroying farming and endangering the health of Americans.  For years now, crops have been raised by drenching the land with chemical fertilizers made with petroleum and sprayed with herbicides and pesticides.  When weeds and insects developed so much tolerance to these sprays, science came along with a genetic solution by developing crops that were genetically modified to withstand stonger sprays.  But that genetic modification has been called to question.  There is evidence that the grains produced by these plants may be harmful to us.  One such genetic mutation spread into honey bee populations and in tests, livestock were more reluctant to eat genetically modified corn than regular corn.  And our use of chemical fertilizers has taken a toll on the soil of our land.  It has failed to replace the nutrient in the soil the way that the animal manure that used to be used did.  Comparisons made of the nutritional value of vegetables grown back in the 50's with that of vegetable grown today, shows a worrying drop in the nutritional value of our crops today.

Farming of livestock has also become big business. Feed lots were the first confinement operations. If you've ever driven by one of these places you won't soon forget the smell. Acre after acre of cattle in pens with no shade, no shelter.  They are fed in long fed bunkers until they reach slaughter weight.  Until this time they stand in these pens, in their own waste.  That waste, which is a major disposal problem, is the cause of the smell, is what's need to improve cropland soil.  Instead it is usually a nuisance by product of the beef industry.  Hogs and chickens are raised in big building in confinement now too, packed so closely together that they have to be given antibiotics as a part of their feed ration to keep them from getting sick due to the close quarters in which they are kept.  They never see the outside world.  The eggs you usually buy in grocery stores come from chickens that are kept in battery cages--row upon row of cages. The hen can't turn around, she can just eat, p**p and lay eggs, for  the few months when she is in top production.  Then she is slaughtered.  Even many milk cows today are never out on pasture, but kept confined and fed inside only. And all these animals have to have antibiotics to keep them healthy and receive hormones to get the highest production possible out of them.  Now not every farm is like that.  There are still a good many family farms that raise free range animals and don't use hormones and unnecessary antibiotics.  You many even find some of there products on grocery shelves.  But by and large, big business has come to dominate farming--Cargil, Monsanto, Tyson, General Mills--and they would really like to see the small farmer become a thing of the past.  Every year, sees more legislation enacted that is supposed to make food safer for people, but in reality only makes it harder for people to buy food from local small farmers.  Farming can never be a thing of the past or people will starve.  If you look around your local area, you will find small farmers, quietly continuing to live as they always have.  When big industrial farms have destroyed the productivity of the land they have in trust, have lost all credibility because the meat and food they offer is lacking in nutrition and such a drug soaked mess no one dares eat it, small farmers will be doing the best they can to provide for the needs of their neighbors.

Answer 2

Changing times sadly is the biggest answer. Thank goodness technology has given us the chance to produce better quality and quantities of crops with smaller amounts of area. Population growth in my area, which is primarily rural has seen the loss of close to three hundred acres of farm ground just in our school district. And urban sprawl is gobbling up farm ground at rate that would blow your mind. Eventually I am guessing it will have to even out or slow down as we few farmers can only feed so many people with the land we have. I understadn your dismay, we went to a state college in the 80's and my husbands degree is in Agricultural Mechanization and it is no longer offered. although there are three newer ag-related bachelors programs along with the others that were available then.....

Farming will never be a thing of the past, as it's required to feed us, in some way shape or form. I suspect that farming as you and I know it will continue to evolve and change and may become hard to recognize to us 'old timers' :) But we have to eat.

Answer 3

not in Texas!!-- Look at availability of land--Mass. has alot of people packed into a small area---

Answer 4

Farms are getting bigger due to mechanization and economics. Places like the Dakotas and Montana are losing small towns at an alarming rate. I can't figure out why people live like rats in the city so thick but don't consider a great way of life where you can often buy a house for less than a used car. So sad to lose a great way of life.

Answer 5

Not to me it's not I farm, animals at least but the biggest problem is labor and land. Labor costs are up and so are land costs. To buy a farm here in California it is often close to a million dollars, and much of the land goes to grapes. It is cheaper to import food from other countries instead of growing it ourselves.

The vegans don't help either, if your for animal rights then buy local, don't shut down the economy!!!

Answer 6

With all the talk about organic food and pollution by farmers food is rather imported leaving the farmers without income.  Good agricultural ground is wasted.    Activist should consider all the effects of their actions.    They might actually cause more harm to the environment.

Without animals a whole lot of bacteria may disappear and we will be the losers.

Answer 7

Takes a lot of hard work, no glamor, uncertain of a profit year to year, real estate brokers buying up land as people try to escape the city. Imports increasing.

Answer 8

farmers and ranchers are being pushed out of prime lands for the sake of money.if you look on line at ranches for sale you will find that what used to be prime cattle land in colorado or wyoming is now being sold to private or corporate individuals for the riches private retreats where they turn a naturally raised cattle ranch into a hobby farm.why? ranchers and farmers wont look twice at 2 to 3 million dollars for their property expecially when they are being pushed out by large corporations or citys.right in my own backyard which is 20 miles away from a expanding town,they have sunk two agricultural wells which are being used to water this expanding towns golf course and now halliburton wants to put a tollway right thru prime cattle and wheat land going from ft collins colorado to pueblo colorado in a mile wide corridor(you can look it up,it is called the superslab)why? probably for the water rights,mineral rights(there is a major oil reserve under where they want to build it).so more  and more country people are giving up,the children can get better paying jobs in the city.real estate companys are flashing money for property and developers are building crackerbox communitys  hoping to make millions off of the people wanting to get out of the city and back to the simple life(lol) but remember this"farms can survive without citys,but citys cant survive without farms.

Answer 9

The biggest problem is economic.  We refuse to pay for our food at a level that allows farmers to continue.  The public will pay for recreation, but not for groceries.  There is no reduction in the burden of government either.  Since agriculture suffers the vagaries of weather and fluctuating income from year to year they used to be able to take advantage of income averaging but that is no longer allowed.  You have a bumper year and pay the tax man at a high rate, then the next year is a bust.  on the average you just broke even but IRS got theirs for the good year and caused you to loose money overall.

Answer 10

The carpetbaggers stole the farms from the family farmers.