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Poor Harvest Numbers
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| Harvest season has arrived in Ohio. For most agricultural producers, this will be a year we will want to forget. The lack of rainfall across the country this summer will result in disappointing returns for many producers. Most people remember the drought of 1988 which covered 34% of the Corn Belt. This year 40% of the Corn Belt was effected by dry weather and remember "rain makes grain".
For many urban folk harvest is slow moving farm machinery on the roads, corn and soybean fields that have had a combine through them, and farm markets selling pumpkins and apple cider. Even though some farmers can harvest corn in a day equal to what grandpa could do in a month, in Ohio one can still see farming the way it was done eighty years ago. Around DeGraff in Logan County the Amish still use horses and harvest corn by putting the crop in shocks. Whether you farm like the Amish or like a 5000 acre crop farmer, something "stinks" about this harvest season. There is no question that corn and soybean production will be the lowest since 1996. Yet prices are not even cost of production for an average year. Whatever happened to the forces of supply and demand? The answer to that question is South America. They are more competitive than we are in growing corn, soybeans and soon, hogs. I believe the 2002 crop year will be the defining year of what I have been preaching about for several years: That there will be two agricultures; large low cost commodity producers and small direct to consumer producers. The driving force behind this is the declining share of the food dollar that U.S. producers receive for their labor. In 1952, when I was a mere lad, farmers received 40% of all dollars spent on food. By 1997 their share had been cut almost in half to 21%. For grain farmers its probably below 5%. Despite lousy crops, prices have not responded because of world economic forces. Commodity farming in the future will be accomplished in the U.S. by only the biggest and the best. Where does that leave the rest? Depends on where you live. World economic forces are killing communities in the heartland. Nebraska, Kansas and the Dakotas rely on agriculture for total survival. When farming is in trouble, so are the communities. When the grain elevator closes, the town soon resembles a ghost town. Ohio is different. Face it: Ohio is an urban state. We are second only to California in the number of cities with populations of 100,000 or more. We have 11.5 million people. Let me re-phrase that: We have 11.5 million potential customers for farm products. This customer base provides great potential for farmers to go direct to consumers and increase farm income on less acres. An example of this is one of my favorite persons, Susie Smithers. Susie is a dynamic bundle of energy and a small farmer. She lives around DeGraff, close to the Amish. Unlike the Amish she drives a van full of farm products to sell to consumers.  She and her husband, Bob, operate a small farm and business called Rollicking Hills Fiber Design. They raise llamas and harvest their fiber, process it, and sell it to weavers, spinners and other consumers. Just like John Deere, Case IH and other companies, you will always find her exhibiting and selling her produce at the Farm Science Review.
We need farmers because they are valuable to our communities. You would be surprised how many farmers like Bill Young and sons, and Rod Bishop are volunteer firemen. Susie teaches handicapped people to swim in her spare time in her community. Recently, Susie told me she had just returned from Country Living Field Day, up in Carroll County, where she said, "You can't get there from here". She said in the middle of nowhere there were 5000 people attending seminars on how to sell farm produce directly to customers. Unlike the heartland, small farmers can do well in Ohio. There is a bumper sticker that says, "America Needs Farmers". I'll go one more step further than that and say Ohio Needs More Small Farmers. Our communities will be a better place with more farm families. 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: October 2002 |