Farming as a Way of Life
For the Love of Farming Home
Farmers’ views on the Government and the Market
During the twentieth century, the percentage of farmers in America decreased from twenty-five percent to less than two percent. As one of my interview candidates affirmed to me, “It’s not like living on Grandpa’s farm anymore” in reference to the way farms must operate today in order to compete. Although farmers face perennial financial difficulty and
daily challenges from weather and hard work, the people I spoke with refrained
from portraying themselves as victims. They take pride in their skill
and they take pride in their ability to adapt their operations to maintain
profitability. Farming is part of their identity. They
care about their animals and their land. Yet, they understand the challenges
and competition inherent to farming and they accept that they must do what
it takes to keep on farming.When I inquired about contemporary trends in agriculture toward consolidation and larger-scale operations, the individuals whom I spoke with showed little resentment and rarely cast blame. While popular causes in the general media often portray small farmers as battling for their lives against corporate giants, these sentiments did not appear in the conversations I held with family farmers. Rather than denouncing corporate practices or advocating solidarity among non-corporate farmers, farmers in my experience accepted the natural economic progression leading to larger operations. Farmers understood the narrow profit margins on animals and acres and understood the advantage of expanding in size in order to increase total earnings. Although CQ Researcher reports that the majority of subsidies flow to the largest farmers (Hosansky, 2002), local farmers did not declare the injustice of government policies or cite the government’s intervention as a reason for the changes taking place.
Farmers expressed reservations about large subsidy programs, but foresaw no changes in these programs in the near future. While conceding that agriculture may run more efficiently without government intervention, farmers recognized the industry’s dependence on government funds. As long as the government supplied subsidies, they would not decline the offer.
Instead of complaining about industry trends that may threaten their operations or continue to force them to expand, farmers emphasized the fact that they were still farming. One of the farmers found pride in the fact that he was still farming while many of his neighbors had been forced to sell their operations. Rather than seeing himself as the next potential victim, he took pride in seeing himself as a survivor of hard times. Instead of blaming the changes in the system, he focused on giving himself credit for find a way to sustain his operation in spite of such challenging circumstances. This observation agrees with the findings of the Food Resource Network (FRN) in its research farmer focus groups. The FRN also found that farmers resisted portrayal as victims of the system, preferring to emphasize their hard work and integrity as individuals
For the Love of Farming
Considering the financial stress and the long hours of work involved with farming, I asked farmers why they farm. The answers I received communicated a deep appreciation for farming as a way of life. As one of the most important themes in the farmers enjoyment of
farming, they talked about the “art” of the profession. “Farming is
always changing,” they told me. “You change activities with the seasons
and you’re constantly bringing in new animals.” One dairy farmer professed
that even the repetitiveness of milking twice daily is lessened by the constant
arrival of new animals and departure of old ones. Farmers know their
animals well and they pay attention to their health and well being.
Even hog farmers with 1400 hogs, walk the floor of their facilities regularly
and keep track of the health of their animals. One farmer described the “art” of farming as the endless subtle adjustments in daily operations, the little parts of managing an operation. He believed that the attentiveness of a farmer to doing the little things well determines the success of an operation. These subtle nuances of farm life reflect the integrity of the individual. According to one of the farmers, “It takes an attentive, caring and diligent individual to run a farm well.” One farmer articulated his observations about the changes in modern hog farming, “It seems to me that the new practices have taken a good deal of the art out of raising pigs and made things more scientific and calculable. I enjoy the calculations and science part of raising pigs, but I don’t know what I’d do if there was no more art left in farming.”
No amount of reading or study can make an individual into a successful farmer. Running an operation well requires knowledge and experience developed over years and decades of practice. Farmers even receive wisdom about their practices from their parents and grandparents who farmed before them. Each farmer farms his or her own way and stands by the superiority of his or her methods. Because they can operate according to their own ideas and adjust their practices according to their own experiences, farmers love the independence and freedom of farming. One individual told me, “You’re never going to get rich farming, but you’ll always be your own boss. No one tells you what to do. I could never work in an office for somebody else.” Other farmers stated their appreciation for the independence of farming in different ways, “I love being out in my tractor all by myself. Just me and the fields and nobody else around. It gives me great time to think.” Other farmers also expressed the contentment they feel while riding along in their tractors. Farmers value their independence and take pride in farming their own way.
Farmers recognize their individualism and understand the problems caused by such independent attitudes. When asked what they thought would need to happen in order for crops to receive a higher price, farmers told me that they would need to organize themselves into a united force. However, they quickly added that they didn’t believe farmers would ever organize, “We’re so damned individualistic. Everybody does things slightly different, so we’ll never agree to join together.” I encountered similar statements from all of the farmers I spoke with. These statements provide insight into the structure of farmers’ values. Farmers place their independence and pride as their highest priority. They farm because they love the farming and the lifestyle it entails. They have not entered this profession for the sake of making money or living an easy life. Farmers refuse to compromise their independence and their pride in their unique way of farming for the sake of gaining higher prices or increasing their leverage against the government. The farmers I spoke with see themselves as survivors, taking pride in their ability to stay afloat during changing times. As survivors, they do not see themselves as dynamic forces for changing the industry
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