Land once free 9 is now priceless
By JERRY WEBB
University of Delaware
j$K, Del. - Fanning is fast becoming a closed
One in which only the sons and sons-in-law of
PUBLIC AUCTION
Monday, Inly 4,1977
10:00 A.M.
om Rt 11 at inwood. West Virginia, turn
on Rt. 51, travel 3 miles to Haines’ Market
fn right - .2 of a mile to sale - or - from
rtes Town, W. Va. take Tour 51 West ap
jmately 8 miles to Haines’ Market - turn left
gfa mite to sale.
PROXIMATELYIS to 20 TRACTORS - Including
, Fords, Internationals, John Deere, Ferguson,
ther makes - plows, discs, rotary cutters, new and
cycle bar mowers, balers, post hole diggers,
tors, rakes, cultivators, wagons, and many other
related articles.
SO - TOOLS - Shop tools, carpenter tools, hand
■house furniture, antiques, and other articles.
I of Pennsylvania will be here with a good load of
% material for the ladies.
IE TO FARMERS AND DEALERS: This is a
jnment sale. Let us sell your surplus farm
mentforyou.
TERMS: CASH
Nothing will be removed until settled for.
loneers:
jre, Morrow, Luttrell ft Miller
Bohrer, Ware ft Bohrer
\t responsible for accidents on premises
Lunch rights reserved
PUBLIC
AUCTION
OF 93 ACRE GENERAL FARM
lESDAY, AUGUST 10,1977
2:00 P.M.
ion; One mile east of Strasburg on the
ide of route 741 in the Twp. of Paradise.
being offered for sale includes large 2 %
ick home with five rooms on the first floor and 7
with bath on the second floor. The home is
:h an oil fired hot water furnace. The farm
consist of a large bank barn with 20 cow
>rse stalls, heifer pens, tobacco shed and a 12 z
silo. Also included in the sale is a 6 room
)use located along route 741 on the northeast
the farm.
. is in a high state of cultivation with long
drained fields. There is over 4,300 feet of road
id a spring fed stream.
leer’s Note: The farm has the reputation of
of the most productive farms in the area,
le that all farm buyers and investors should
id.
date: July 2,19771:00 to 3:00 P.M.
National Bank of Strasburg
'the Estate of
D.RJUKX
A. W. Reese Esq.
132 E. Chestnut St
Lancaster, Pa.
A Buchen Auction Service
' Leaman
Buchen
Edgar A. Boner
Sale Manager
304-229-8354
established farmers can gain entry. The financial
requirements are so great, land so scarce, and the
technology so sophisticated, that only the fortunate few
who are born on the land will be fanners in the years
ahead. It seems funny, but in only a few lifetimes we’ve
evolved from a nation where land was virtually free to one
where it is almost priceless.
The West wots settled by young men who had little more
than a desire to make it on their own. With that, and a few
band tools, they started farming, Fanning became the
economic marvel of pure competition - easy entry and
exit, many buyers and sellers, little product dif
ferentiation and no one individual with any influence in
the marketplace.
That was farming for a couple of hundred years in this
country. There was plenty of land available almost for the
taking and the market would accept what was produced
even though the price was often not profitable.
Within that framework, American agriculture
developed into the most productive and sophisticated
system in the world. Our fanners were the best, even
though they were underpaid for what they did, preferring
their way of life to the better-paying city jobs.
But pure competion is a rough business and a lot of
farmers failed. Each census of agriculture reports the toll
as older farmers die off, retire, or sell out, not to be
replaced. Sure their acres go right on being farmed, but
usually by other farmers who are expanding, not by new
farmers. So in the span of 200 years we’ve gone from a
nation where virtually every man farmed to one where
only a few call themselves farmers. We talk about a
million farmers, but there may actually be fewer than
500,000 who are full-time, commercial farmers.
As time passes and the entry requirements become
more rigid, that figure could be halved and halved again.
Then the profession that was once for the common'man
will be in the hands of a select few who by accident of-birth
PUBLIC SALE
OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS AND AffIOUES.
CAR AW TRUCK
Location; 1 mile east of Strasburg along Route
741.
SATURDAY, JULY 9, UR?
9:00 A.M.
Kelvinator elec, stove, Philco right & left hand door
refrig., upright freezer, G.E. auto, washer, Kelvinator
dryer, elec, toaster, & coffee maker, waffle iron, pots,
pans, kettles, meat sheer, elec, mixer, elec, clocks,
breakfast set w. 2 boards & 6 chairs, elec. iron.
ANTIQUES
Mirror comb. & towel rack, kerosene lamp w/wall
bracket, blanket chest, coffee grinder, 2 small ox
yokes, hanging hall rack & mirror, grain flail, band
bell, music cabinet, footstool, 2 clothes trees, Tiffany
lamp, spindle back chair, cane seated rocker, 3 dolls, 3
iron cats & 2 iron dogs, small chest, 12 individual salts,
collection of carnival ware, pressed & cut glass, band
com planter, iron toys, Ferguson & John Deere
tractors, alarm clock, repro. butter chum, 2 sets sleigh
chimes, elephant bank, wooden swivel desk chair.
1976 G.M.C. Pickup 3 speed power brakes steering,
7,800 miles.
1971 Ford Galaxie 500,4 door, good shape.
10 strings of sleigh bells.
Packard piano, glass enclosed music box. Senator
clock 4% ft. high, 2 pole lights, floor & table lights, solid
walnut slant top desk w/drawers, desk & china closet
combination, hutch cupboard, pictures, picture
frames, mirrors, 6 dining room chairs (leather seats),
8 clothes trees, bureau & washstand, bedroom suite,
small cabinet, occasional tables, chest of drawers,
swivel chair, small table w/drop leaves for silverware
storage, silverware service for 8, sofa bed.
Many quilts some from Morgantown sale, spreads,
comforts, Magnovox stereo & record player, Kundo
clock, music box in glass case, AM-FM radio,
stoneware bell, typewriter. Compact sweeper, 2
magazine racks, White elec, sewing machine, painted
milk can, rocking chairs, cane chairs, throw rugs,
luggage, what-not-shelf, mirrors, occasional chair,
towels, washcloths, heating pad.
Set of dishes, 2 berry sets, milk glass vase, Coffee
set, tea set, casserole dishes, cups & saucers,
humidifier, new wood beater, step stool, marbles,
artificial flowers, checkerboard, trays, miscellaneous
tools garden & others, lawn chairs, clothes basket,
Stevens 410-22 over & under, wooden racks, 3 hp.
Homelite garden tiller, John Deere 70 riding mower.
Many, many articles not mentioned.
Terms by.
CHESTER & ELSIE RANCH
J. Everett Kreider Aucts.
Carl Oilier
Lunch Furnished.
Aucts. Note; The items at this sale are in very good
condition.
(Sale held in tem)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 25,1977
become farmers. No more pure competition, no more ease
of entry. As existing farms come up for sale they will go to
men already engaged in farming who will convince
lenders that they have the know-how and the equipment to
expand. Why shouldn’t a banker go along with such a
plan? A farmer who can demonstrate success with 500
acres looks like a sure bet for a second 500.
And so the land will pass on to fewer and fewer and the
city boy will be virtually locked out. Even though he may
be agriculturally trained and experienced, he won’t be
able to prove ability above the sons of farmers who are
already lined up waiting to buy.
It won’t be long before almost all small farms of a few
years ago will vanish from commercial agriculture. They
may be operated as part-time farms by the children who
inherited them, but they’ll make a small contribution to
the total agricultural output. The commercial farm of 3 to
4 hundred acres as it exists today will have been replaced
by the 4 to 5 thousand acre farm. That may happen sooner
than you think. There are many such farms now and any
young farmer who is looking has to be convinced that’s the
way to go. So as resources are available to him, he’ll grow
in land, machinery, knowledge and operating capital,
until the 5000 acre operation controlled by one farmer will
be common, and the super farm may then be 20,000 acres.
How far ahead are we looking? Not too far. The pace is
going to pick up at an accelerating rate. If it took 200 years
to get this far, you can bet it won’t take half that long to
achieve what I’m talking about. It’s not too far out to think
of the total crop production in a small state like Delaware
being done by 500 farmers. The census report says there
are now 3574 fanners in the state, so how long will it take
to produce these agricultural aristocrats, these
bluebloods of the soil, the twenty-first century’s landed
gentry. I’ll guess 2050. That sounds like a good year, one
that I can safely pick without fear of being proven wrong.
Which 500 farm families now tilling the soil will pass
that special legacy down to their great grandchildren? I
could list a few names, but I won’t. I could also add that I
think the 500 already display certain characteristics
which will permit them to stay in the game for another 75
years and be part of that super agriculture of the next
century. Look around you. You probably know some of
those kinds of fanners too. I don’t believe that they’re too
difficult to spot although they may not be judged as out
standing fanners by today’s standards. Obviously it
will take a different kind of fanner tooperate a 5000 acre
farm. To even want to farm on that scale takes a special
kind of guy.
One final thought. The most popular girls on
agriculture college campuses in the years ahead could
well be the farmers’ daughters. To paraphrase an old
saying - “It’s just as easy to love a farm girl with no
brothers and a lot of land.”
Pullers supported
AKRON, Ohio - B. F.
Goodrich Tire Division and
the National Tractor Pullers
Association (NTPA) have
announced details of the 1977
contingency support
program for the NTPA
Circuit for drivers using
Goodrich tires on their
pulling tractors.
Tractor pulling has
become one of the fastest
growing forms of motorsport
on the North American
ANTLER RANCH
DISPERSAL SALE
PUREBRED REGISTERED
POLLED HEREFORD CATTLE
At Camara’s Auction Barn, Route 6, Swansea,
Massachusetts.
SATURDAY, JULY 16,1977
12 Noon
Antler Ranch of Blaine, Maine will disperse ap
proximately 60 lots of registered polled Herefords
including cows with calves, yearling heifers, yearling
bulls, going back to foundation bloodlines CMR and
Spidel stock. All these heifers and cows will be exposed
to bulls of top bloodlines from June 1 up to date of sale
Bulls to be sold include Ar Super Domino and RCF
Superol.
Auctioneers:
John Rosselie
182 Cherry Street
Middleboro, Mass.
617-947-4751
Dale Folsom
Blaine, Maine
207-429-9205
Auctioneer’s Note: This will be a rare opportunity to
acquire offspring from the two highest selling
bloodlines in the nation.
continent, with total at
tendance of over 500,000 at
NTPA-sanctioned events last
year.
Tractor pulling features a
wide variety of competition
equipment, including:
7fpowered garden tractors
(“minis”); four wheel drive
pickup trucks; 1,200 hor
sepower farm tractors
(“super stock”); far out
“modifieds” with 2,000 - 3,000
horsepower powerplants.
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