Grain prices are on the rise, food prices are on the rise
and the world over all seems a bit sadder with the loss of so many farms in
such a small span of time. The loss of
the farms goes by almost un-noticed as daily life lays its heavy toll upon us
all. Days seem to fly by and it will not
be long until fall has stretched out her hand to paint the few living trees
with her palette of bright colors. For
many farms this fall will turn into a winter from which there will be no return,
and the long standing battle between corporate farms and small family farms may
be at an end.
Bitter in both the mouth and the belly is the thought that a
country founded and based on farming has turned its back on those who for so
many generations have placed the very food upon its table, from which it drew its
strength. We as a people have long ago
passed through the plight of the dust bowl and depression, never thinking that
it could happen again. Yet, today as farms dry up and the memories of that by
gone time return too many farm families; it is with heavy heart that they
wonder why they even do it. Many like us
feel unwanted in this age of automation and commercial farms. Left to the road with no thank you, and no
prospects of better times ahead, it is a sad and lonely road we follow, the
last of a dying breed of hard working Americans, who have lost their place.
Many people talk to me each day of the many green programs and expanding ideas
on natural/organic foods, in the case of many small farms it is too little too
late. The small farm can in many cases no longer survive;
there is no time for another new plan, no big idea to save them from their fate.
On our farm as an example, it is quite improbable that I can
pay $65.00 or more for a round bale of hay, not to mention feed for a cow or
goat and then sell at the price of a corporate farm that can feed cheaper feed
with no fear as they are protected by a government system who encourages the
large corporate farm, all the while creating laws that a small farm could not
in any way adhere to. If I put three hundred
dollars into feed, I cannot sell the goat for one hundred dollars; a two hundred
dollar loss on a small farm is unthinkable, more than that it is impossible
being too great of a lose to take on. To
make matters worse prices continue to rise and supply nowhere meets need. There are days you can go down to the local
gas station where you can see trucks lined up from other non-drought areas of
the country selling hay at the most alarming prices and amounts, it is likely
to buy hay this will you must commit to at least if not more than 40 bales. I was told by one of our local farmers that
the bales he bought were eighty five dollars and that he had to buy 40 to get
such a low price…that means he spent 3400 dollars for two months’ worth of
hay. I was shocked to say the
least. In a normal year we pay thirty
seven per bale, delivered. In a normal
year we would go through nearly 100 bales, this year we can only get around 30,
at nearly one third less hay, we needed one third less animals. So the selling began over a month ago, we
sold off most of our chickens and non-food ducks, in hopes of staying some of
the money towards hay. We have sold a few goats, I tried to sell a cow, but
made little progress and now we are faced with keeping it till it calves and
then most likely will need to sell it.
Breaks my heart as I saved a long time to have a second cow, but with
the laws regarding selling of milk, she is of little value to us. My husband talks about throwing a couple of
bottle calves on her and having veal…maybe that is a good answer for us, right
now I don’t know. It is a hard path to
go down, knowing that we may not have enough hay to get us through, but I have
faith we will find a way. So this is where
we stand, much like other farmers on the cusp of failure…
