Oat farm in Georgia, circa 1940

The origin of our farm subsidies came out of the rampant overproduction and environmental devastation that happened during the 1930s.  Farm subsidies are supposed to not only ensure a food supply for us all but also to protect farmers from the severe fluctuations in community prices.  At the core of farm subsidies is the idea that a democracy must have a safe steady food supply that not only feeds us all but also helps farmers ride the waves of our market without losing their farms.  If farmers lose their farms then we as a nation have no one to grow our food.  Unfortunately, the original meaning of our farm subsidies has changed and there has been more stress put on feeding us (regardless of quality) than there has been on helping farmers keep their farms.  Farm subsidies, as they stand now, benefit large corporate farms more than they do small farms, and they benefit feedlots more than they do grass-fed producers.  In the 1930s, about 25% of Americans lived on small farms, but by 1997 only 2% of our population lived on farms; not only that, there were 6 million farms in 1930, and now only 157,000 farms account for 72% percent of the farm production.  How did this happen?

There are many reasons, but I think one of the largest reasons is that as less of us farm, fewer people are impacted by how hard and challenging farming has become (especially small operations).  Family farms have been declining at an alarming rate for the past 20 years; with large mega farms sprouting up all over rural America, there are so few voters that understand or care about agriculture policy.  During the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression farmers railed together; this is no longer the case because there are so few of us to protest.  Farmers protested in the 1930’s, sometimes even violently, for their right to hold onto their farms.  When foreclosed farms went up for sale, neighboring farmers would come to the sale to intimidate buyers.  They were a suffering community of one. Unfortunately this is no longer the case. Today, farmers suffer largely in silence and alone.  It is not until the farm is gone and the cows shipped, that neighbors realize how much trouble their neighbors were in.  In New York State, most farmers live at or below the poverty level.  Many are not aware of this because farms look pretty; they are in many ways how we all dream to live, but this is a hard lifestyle made even more difficult because of our mismanaged agricultural policy.  This was not always the case; farming was profitable --the backbone of America and our rural communities were vibrant centers where people raised families.

Rural America has changed too; as the family farm disappears so does a viable economy, and many communities start to fail.  For the first time in the history of the world, more people live in cities then they do in rural areas. What does this mean for us all? Is it better for less to make more food, or is it better to have many make food for us all?  This is a very complex issue, and the more thought put into it by all of us, the better off we all are.