Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, August 16, 1980, Image 186
ElB—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 16,1980 Secretary ot Agnculime Bob Bergland set off a big round of discussion about the future of the family farm in a senes of “struc tures” meetings held over the past several months What was said at those meetings would fill volumes, but it boils down to an outcry for agricultural policy that preserves the family farm tradition. That covers a lot of ter ritory and ranges from seemingly absurd sugges tions aimed at limiting farm size and farm owner ship, to credit systems that make it easier for the fami ly farmer to get started or to hang on. The family farmer has been at the heart of American's food producing mechanism for many generations, but some feel he’s an endangered species. He’s defined as a farmer, who with the labor of his own family operates a com plete production unit. These units have continued to decline in number and in crease in acreage and in come. Today, no more than two percent of the population farms the land and many of those must be defined as larger-than-family farm units. The old traditional family farm emerged from the horse era as a viable agricultural unit. A farmer “18 years without replacing a single part.” w, “We checked out the competition carefully when we bought our first Cornell Barn Cleaner We had to have a tough unit All our runs arc over 400 feet and serve up to 60 bulls We chose Cornell because of its reputation for heavy-duty performance That first unit is still working r c “„“ Mig”” ~ P 7lfs” ~ " as hard as ever, and we’ve ! 80,1 i* • 2 • uceyviu* pa 18623 added three more over the “I'n'k", years In 18 years with ijm < farmer siud^m Cornell Barn Cleaners, J Name we’ve never replaced Adillt-VS a single part ” j^(nv Farm Talk Jerry Webb emu ms wife cuung with several children could till the land, care for the livestock, produce most of their own needs, and sur vive with little or no hard money income. The necessities of life that could not be grown on the farm were bartered for with eggs, chickens, and canned goods. Those things that could only be purchased most generally were done without. Such units survived depressions, recessions, vtarld wars, stock market Qjrashes and other phenomena, and when pro sperity finally did come to agriculture in the post- World War II period, they were ready and willing to share in it. - As horses were replaced with small tractors and then with bigger tractors, and as thrashing machines yielded to combines, small family farms began to grow. Retiring farmers were bought out by their neighbors and farmers com peted against each other for rental acres. During the “hard times” period of American agriculture, when there was little or no money and plen ty of backbreaking labor, most kids who grew up on a family farm quickly moved on to something else. But then with mechanization and prosperity, the family farm became a more at tractive alternative for farm-reared youngsters So, family farms grew as iiioi e and more family members became part of the business. Through all that, the out-migration from agriculture continued. The masses of farm workers from the horse and hand labor agriculture of the turn of the century yielded a lot of people to urban employ ment at mechanization and other progress became ac cepted. Believe it or not, fanners were slow to adopt much of the new fangled labor saving ways' First of all because they had no money and the new machines were quite expensive, and secondly because the had plenty of family labor. Why buy a tractor when you had plenty of horses and plenty of kids to handle them 7 But eventually farmers did replace the horses and the tractors got bigger and better, and the family farmer who started farming on 80 acres back in the thir ties now tilled several hun dred acres, maybe even several thousand, with no more than one or two helpers. . So the family farm as recalled from the 1930 s is gone. lake many other in stitutions of that period, it adjusted or died. Today’s family farm is larger, better equipped, and better financed even though it still operates mostly on family labor. But that may not be enough to keep it go ing in the decade ahead, considering the tremedous economic pressure that is being exerted. What family farmer can pay a million dollars for a moderate sized farm, $lOO,OOO for a combine, or $50,000 for a tractor 7 What family farmer can continue to bring his offspr ing into the business to assure continuity and con tinued growth 7 Frank Relchard. Barn Manager Atlantic Breeders Cooperative Lancaster. FA mt **£th3r Send for this FREE folder today) »mu Slrfit' There are many who con sider the family farmer an endangered species and who are plotting ways to preserve its existence. Some of those ways are ex treme, ill-conceived and probably unconstitutional, but they do point toward a very basic premise in American agnculture-the importance of the family farm and its preservation. Does your money " work hard for * INTEREST IS COMPOUNDED DAILY You Always Get More For Your Money At Fsi:ic First Federal SAVINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATION OF LANCASTER 23 East King Street, Lancaster Phone 393-0601 • 69 E Mam Street Lititz Phone 626 0251 • East Towne Mall Phone 393 0488 • 24 E Mam St. Mount Joy Phone 653 8121 Do we truly believe in this and if so, what can we do to assure its continuance? you? If Not One Of Our Savings Plans Could Be Your SOLUTION... WE OFFER: PASSBOOK ACCOUNTS* CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT* 30 MONTH SPECIAL CERTIFICATES* JEJi inr • 335 Fifth St, Quarryville • 100 E Mam St, New Holland Phone 786 1010 Phone 354 4427 • Park City Center, Lancaster (In Sears Mall) Phone 299 3745 • 519 A LeamanAve , Millersville Phone 872 4665 These are big questions that will be debated at great length in the years ahead. PON THE BALANCED Wtr MONEY MARKET CERTIFICATES $))) & HUtt HOUSM LENDER «D*