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  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Letting go of the family farm
  • Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2006 11:08:07 -0600


These AZ newspaper articles highlight what's been going on all over the
country for decades. Three more articles like this are linked at the end.
In most cases farmers freely admit they can't survive by farming, and
developers and banks take over. One focus on our list is the profitability
of growers and ways to make it work, and why so many have been forced out
with traditional chemical agriculture.

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net
---------------

Letting go of the family farm
Work boots or iPods? Plowing or yoga? How families' choices are forever
changing a Valley tradition
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0709farmingfuture0709
1.html

Lisa Nicita
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 9, 2006 12:00 AM

Today's farmer listens to his iPod as he marks his field using GPS guidance
to plant perfectly straight lines. He carries a cellphone. He might even
toss a PDA into the air-conditioned cab of his John Deere tractor.

He knows real estate. He may do yoga. Sometimes he flies off to rock
concerts across the country.

Today's farmer isn't your grandpa's farmer. Today's farmer sees Arizona's
growth and he is gradually following the trend that is leading him away
from its agricultural heritage.

Today's farmer is in transition.

As more than 240 family farms a year in Arizona succumb to developers, so
does the decades-long heritage of a rural life accented by dirty hands,
work boots, tractors and supper. Sons are leaving behind the profession
they watched their fathers and grandfathers work so hard to succeed at.

But they're not getting out because they can't see themselves riding high
on a combine.

Arizona just isn't a good place to be a farmer anymore. It's not as
profitable, and it costs too much to get started. Besides, master-planned
communities are the real cash crop.

But at the same time, the Arizona Farm Bureau said the profession isn't
lost among the younger generations. The bureau sponsors a Young Farmer and
Rancher program, which is holding pretty steady with 209 members ages
18-35.

"It's not dying," said Jim Klinker, executive secretary for the bureau. "We
have our challenges, but it's not dying."

It's just changing.

"This generation is changing the hat from farmer to developer," Klinker
said.
---------------

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0709farmingSossaman07090.html
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0709farmingJRayner0709.html
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0709farmingRayner0709.html









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