MAY 1996
Rural America Makes A Comeback
by Ken Root
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Prairie Grains is the
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the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
1. A system of government that allows for free enterprise. We as U.S. citizens have the opportunity to succeed (or fail) from the endeavors we pursue.
2. Land. When Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisana Territory from France in 1803, he assured the survival and prosperity of today's America. The land that borders the Mississippi River from the Rockies east to Ohio is the largest area of productive land in the world. Further, it has the infrastructure to allow grain and livestock to be easily transported from its farthest reaches to the rivers or the coast along with a grain storage capacity that exceeds anywhere else on earth.
3. Above all else, the people. The determination of each generation to make life better for the next was the foundation of "values" that many think this country has lost. Those values of hard work, integrity, honesty, self sacrifice and community service all originated on the farms and ranches of rural America, which is the basis of our society. Indeed, the frontier farmer did far more to tame the American wilderness than anyone else.
However, rural America has been in decline since the depression. If you wish to blame farm policy, a case can be made for doing so. But bear in mind, if you ask what purpose the last 60 years of farm policy was, you should arrive at the conclusion that it was to provide an abundant, low cost food supply for the people of this country. It was not to keep farmers on the land and ensure that they continued to maintain their rural lifestyle.
Now that America has let its rural regions slip so far into decline, how can they make any kind of comeback? My contention is that rural life is superior to urban or suburban living. People in rural America inherently have a better lifestyle because of the things they don't have.
They don't contend with daily rush hours and backed-up traffic. When they breathe the air they don't choke. When they want tranquility, they're not disturbed by sirens and other man-made sounds. Rural life has a peace that those who have it always know and those who don't have it never felt.
The key is getting those who live in the populated areas to see that they can have a better life in a less-populated area. That is very difficult when they have no roots in rural areas. I believe that anyone who can do business with phone, fax and overnight mail service can find a better life in a rural area.
Several factors will have a hand in rural America's comeback. For instance, those retiring in rural communities have the greatest wealth of any generation to date. They have social security and medicare plus appreciation on the value of their land or homes. I believe that these people are going to demand services that will bring people back to rural communities to serve them.
Also, more and more, agriculture is adding value to its products by creating processing facilities near production areas. Processing co-ops are springing up and bringing a new dimension to farming, plus adding jobs in key agricultural locations.
And employers are looking for low cost locations to build new industry; but this is a two-edged sword. New industries inherently bring in people of a different ethnic and socio-economic background. What is good for the chamber of commerce may bring new challenges for rural schools, police, and local governments.
Two groups of farmers will survive
Two trends exist that we must know: First, people will pay any amount of money for things that have no real value. At the same rate, they don't want to pay anything for the things they need. In other words, they'd rather spend money on things they want. If you are in an industry that produces a basic necessity like food, fuel, clothing, or housing, you need to know that to make a profit, you have to make it "desirable" for it to sell.
That's part of the reason why in tomorrow's agriculture, two groups of farmers will survive: those who are the largest-scale, lowest-cost producers, and those who position themselves to be suppliers of a unique product.
The second related trend is this: Luxuries have become necessities, simple as that. Microwave ovens and mobile phones are examples. That means that the standard of living for all of us is marching upward. Today, a farm family of four needs $35,000 per year for living expenses. That is why farmers are going broke! It is because we cannot (excuse, me, will not) live like our ancestors. We expect and demand that agriculture deliver the same lifestyle that we could achieve elsewhere, and it can if we understand that it is a business that can yield an income suitable to support a lifestyle and not the reverse.
Despite distractions of the wants of life, the needs of this society are very simple. Food is an item that we must have to live. It is the first thing that developing countries buy to improve their standard of living. The American farmer can produce an abundance of high quality food and through our distribution system, this food can be sold to anyone on earth at a price that is competitive. We need to know that strength of our profession and not let it be used against us.
As we head into the future, do not believe that America is on her last leg. Do not fear that your rights as a citizen are soon to be passed to a nameless bureaucrat in the United Nations. Do not be drawn into extremism. America is still a nation of government, land and people that works for the betterment of all. When you see Americans fleeing to Mexico, Cuba and Southeast Asia, then worry. But until that time, remember that you live in a land of opportunity and in rural America, the opportunities for the 21st century are the greatest of all.
Ken Root is host of AgriTalk, a daily talk radio show focusing on rural America and agriculture, broadcast from 10 to 11 a.m. central time by 126 radio stations in 30 states. He was a keynote speaker at the 1996 Small Grains Institute in Crookston, MN.