Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[su do <speakingbeareturns@yahoo.com>]

I have seen many farms being sold to developers. If
this keeps happening, we won't have the agriculture.
More ppl, more houses, no food. <shaking head>
--- TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net> wrote:

> 
> I posted that to make this comment.
> 
> But a lot of people can make a good living on two to
> five acres, depending
> on where they are, what they're growing, and their
> growing methods and
> marketing. For decades now, family farms have been
> going broke on the
> advice to get big or get out, going in debt for more
> land, bigger
> machinery, paying more and more for fertilizers,
> herbicides, pesticides,
> and labor, and in the end having to sell wholesale
> to the corporate
> middlemen. Keep on the same way, expect the same
> results. 
> 
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
> 
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
> 
> On 11/27/2007 at 9:38 AM TradingPostPaul wrote:
> 
> >In US Midwest, young farmers priced out of land
> >Ethanol demand has pushed Midwest farmland prices
> through the roof.
> >By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian
> Science Monitor
>
>http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0322/p01s01-usec.html?page=1
> >DES MOINES, IOWA - Matt Miller dreams of the farm
> he and his wife and
> young
> >son could one day live on.
> >
> >Mr. Miller says he could make it work with 200
> acres near the small farm
> >his father owns if he focuses on organic
> agriculture and diversifies with
> a
> >few dairy cows or hogs. The problem: buying the
> land.
> >
> >He already rents 90 of those acres, and he and his
> wife have been saving
> >her income for years to buy the rest. But every
> time they reach their
> goal,
> >land prices go up.
> >
> >Real estate prices in cities may be falling, but in
> Midwestern farm
> >country, land values are going through the roof.
> Fueled by heavy ethanol
> >demand, which has pushed up corn prices, land that
> sold for $4,500 an acre
> >a year ago might go for about $6,000 an acre today.
> >
> >"It's kind of disheartening," says Mr. Miller, an
> organic inspector for
> the
> >state of Iowa. who has a friendly smile and an
> upbeat attitude. "It's like
> >a moving target. All these things we've done are
> futile."
> >
> >Average land values are up 13 percent in Iowa from
> a year ago and 14
> >percent in Nebraska – and far more than that in
> prime counties. Along
> >with surging corn prices, land-value growth means a
> boom in wealth for
> >farmers who own their land. But for beginners like
> Miller, it's made an
> >already tough proposition far tougher.
> >
> >"It's absolutely destroying their chances," says
> Mike Duffy, an
> >agricultural economist at Iowa State University and
> director of the
> >Beginning Farmer Center. When Mr. Duffy advises
> aspiring young farmers, he
> >says he encourages them to find other ways to begin
> than buying land. "But
> >they always want to own land," Duffy says. "That's
> somehow the badge of
> >being a farmer." 
> >
> >The issue is a concern to some because of the aging
> farmer population and
> >the continuing trend of consolidation and
> depopulation of rural America
> >that it contributes to. About half the nation's
> farms are owned by people
> >over the age of 65, and a quarter are owned by
> people over 75, according
> to
> >the most recent survey, which Duffy's organization
> conducted five years
> >ago. He expects those numbers to rise significantly
> when they redo the
> >survey this year.
> >
> >As land passes down to a generation that may be
> farming it, more acres –
> >currently about 1 out of every 5 – are owned by
> people who don't live
> >there.
> >
> >Some see that as the natural evolution of farming
> and a way to keep things
> >efficient, but others worry that the barriers are
> getting too steep –
> and
> >that America's rural culture will suffer a loss.
> Many, of course,
> celebrate
> >the surging land price.
> >
> >"It represents a huge wealth increase for those who
> own the land," says
> >Bruce Johnson, an agricultural economist at the
> University of Nebraska in
> >Lincoln. "It's the hottest real estate market to be
> in right now."
> >
> >For those trying to enter it, Professor Johnson
> acknowledges, it's tough.
> >Like Duffy, he encourages young farmers to find
> alternatives to owning
> >land.
> >
> >Niches with higher profit margins – like the
> organic market Miller hopes
> >to enter – can also help.
> >
> >Not all young farmers are discouraged. Kyle Maas, a
> senior at Iowa State
> >University and the former chairman of the Beginning
> Farmers Network there,
> >has already entered into a nonfamily partnership
> with an older farmer and
> >his son. They're focusing on cattle, because it
> requires less land. They
> >also grow some row crops and hay. The high rents
> are tough, he says, but
> he
> >thinks the market is such that they can make the
> operation profitable. 
> >
> >"If you tell yourself about how high cash rents
> make it too difficult,
> then
> >it is," says Mr. Maas, who grew up on a small farm
> in northwest Iowa. "But
> >if you move past it, then you can try to overcome
> it."
> >
> >He encourages young, aspiring farmers to come up
> with creative solutions,
> >and to talk to as many farmers nearing retirement
> as they can – many of
> >whom can get significant tax advantages if they
> enter into a partnership
> >with a young person.
> >
> >"The older generation has the capital," Maas says,
> "but we've got
> >advantages, too" – including familiarity with
> technology and the
> >willingness to work long hours.
> >
> >One concern for anyone trying to buy land is
> whether the current values
> >will last. Back in the 1970s, land and corn prices
> saw a similar spike,
> >only to be followed by a crash of land values and
> higher interest rates
> >that led to a wave of foreclosures and farm
> consolidations in the 1980s.
> >
> >"It's an interesting time to be in agriculture, and
> from our perspective,
> >it's been a very good thing," says Jim Farrell,
> president and CEO of
> >Farmers National Bank in Omaha, Neb., which manages
> about 1.2 million
> acres
> >that it leases to farmers and sells close to 600
> farms a year.
> >
> >The last four months in particular have shown a
> steep surge, Mr. Farrell
> >says. The factors driving those prices up – corn at
> more than $4 a
> bushel
> >and a steady demand for ethanol – have helped
> inject a sense of euphoria
> >into agriculture that reminds Farrell of the late
> 1970s.
> >
> 
=== message truncated ===



      
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