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Farm Drama Doesn't Need Movie
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I am constantly amazed at the number of people who loved the movie, Forrest Gump. What amazes me more is that I liked the movie and a "movie buff" I am not. Had it not been for television I probably would have never seen it since I really don't care to pay real dollars to see a movie. Hollywood would be a "ghost town" if it relied on me for income. My wife will tell you that unless there is Indians and cowboys trying to kill each other, I really don't care to watch it, much less, pay for it.
I believe people go to the movies for excitement. Since I am involved in farming, I don't need any more excitement. There is so much excitement in farming it almost "kills us" everyday. You wait eight months to sell a crop and as soon as you "pull-the-trigger", the Board of Trade is up the limit the next three days in a row! If you thought cowboys were attacked by Indians in the 1800's, you should witness a corn crop trying to survive an attack by sixteen species of insects, 30 species of weeds and ten disease pathogens. In addition, it has to withstand frost, hail, floods, drought, herbicide drift and teenage boys with pickup trucks with huge tires cruising through it. Then there is the phone calls, "Was that your cow herd I just passed running down State Route 41?" There's nothing like coming home and finding your bull hit by lightning; having a cow have a calf and she says to you "it's yours"; artificial inseminating your best heifer and she has a heart attack and dies in the chute; and putting a cow in a chute, then suddenly, like in wrestling, there is a reversal and squeeze chute is suddenly on top of the cow. The common man would be shocked to know how many places a piece of farm machinery can actually break. Then there is the excitement of farm accidents and "near misses." Bruce Willis, I really don't need any more excitement. Actually, there was a time I went to the movies. When I was growing up in Georgetown, I could see a movie for 25 cents. One of the movies I saw for a quarter was the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy must have been a genius for in that movie she concluded that there was no place like home. One of the things I enjoy most about my job is being a member of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. Every year a different state hosts our annual professional improvement meeting and one whole day is spent touring agriculture in that state. This year it was Georgia's turn. They chose to host the meeting in Savannah where the famous park bench scene was filmed with Tom Hanks in the movie Forrest Gump. If you have never been to Savannah, you need to visit the historic district, which has the most small parks I have ever seen; almost one in every block and well kept. My daylong tour went north to four rural southwest counties in South Carolina. I would have never guessed what I was about to see: the end of agriculture in rural counties. We left Savannah at 7:30 A.M. and rode the bus until 5:45 P.M. and saw very few farms in a very rural area. We visited a sod and catfish farm, a 1500 acre peach farm, a 2000 acre quarter horse and longhorn cattle ranch, and two plantations, which raise corn, cotton, and soybeans. It took four counties to find five farms to visit. I never saw any livestock except a few horses and the one ranch we toured. Our tour guide was a 30-year veteran of Extension. He stated that ag economists told the ag agents 30 years ago that all of the crops and livestock farms would be replaced with pine trees. The agents laughed at them. They're not laughing anymore. Several years ago the government offered landowners cash rent payments annually to take their farms out of production and grow pine trees. Almost everyone took them up on the offer. All you see now is pine trees. Crop acreage dropped 70% in these counties because they could not compete against the Midwest in raising corn and soybeans. The eight-cent hog market in 1998 ended livestock there. Roselawn Plantation had just harvested their corn crop: 38 bushels per acre. At our luncheon in Barnwell County, the Economic Director said, "As you can see, agriculture is going out of Barnwell County and we have to replace it with timber related businesses." I am very thankful that Ohio has prime soils, which allows us to compete in agriculture and retain the beautiful landscapes of farms across Ohio. It is very boring seeing only pine trees and dirt roads as you drive down a state highway. I have visited agriculture in many states and I concur with Dorothy's conclusion in the Wizard of Oz, "There is no place like home," and I don't mean Kansas. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868 Updated: August 2002 |