The biggest most recurring thought I had while I was in Washington D.C. meeting with congressional leaders and their aides … the fact that ever meeting I had with someone was a meeting that was preceded by another meeting. That’s just how Washington D.C. works I guess. I was there to speak on behalf of some beginning farmers and talk about how the current governmental programs do or don’t help a beginning farmer and what could be done to level the playing field (or at least allow me on the scale) slightly. But, while I was out there I realized I was a small fish in a rather vast ocean. One meeting before mine included six very well dressed men with briefcases and fancy charts … they were with a road construction company and I’m fairly certain they were there for a similar reason as mine … to share their story and ask for support (which in governmental terms usually means money).
All of that made me wonder what I was doing there … was my voice going to be a voice or a murmur … did it matter if I shared my story … where those “asks” I was asking for even worth the time? There was always a thought in the back of my mind that was a little cynical about the system. But, at the same time I will admit that I was slightly intrigued by the process.
The main reason that the our group was out there was to paint a picture of beginning farmers across the country and speak with congressional leaders about the upcoming farm bill … which I learned may happen anywhere between 2011 and 2013 … although it is scheduled for 2012. In fact the thing that we were sharing with people was what is considered a “marker bill” for the next farm bill. In this case it was probably one of the first “marker bills”.
As I looked at the bill there were things that really intrigued me and things that I questioned. Some of the ideas for allow beginning farmers microloans through the FSA were interesting, but I was always wondering where so much money comes from! As I mentioned last time and will mention time and time again the biggest thing I shared with the people I met with was that I just wanted to be able to compete in the market without having to always fight an uphill battle against my bigger farm neighbors … there is room for all kinds of farms as long as one of the farming kind doesn’t get pushed off the cliff in favor of the other (and I know both sides probably feel like they’re the ones headed for the cliff at times).
Just some more of my thoughts … oh and the picture above is of my (blurry me) and Tom Latham a representative from Iowa …
“…the biggest thing I shared with the people I met with was that I just wanted to be able to compete in the market without having to always fight an uphill battle against my bigger farm neighbors…”
Out of curiosity, what kind of battles do you have to fight against bigger farms?
I would say our farm is small to medium, similar but different to yours, and I don’t feel like I am fighting against any other farm.
Some farmers have advantages that I don’t have, but I have some advantages that others don’t have so it all balances out in the end.
Rich … I think the challenges are different for every area. Here in Iowa one of the issues is access to land. We could argue about the reasons for high land prices, but the fact is that with high corn prices land goes up and feed goes up. Maybe subsidies have something to do with that?
But, as a small scale direct marketing farmer I have a difficult time getting the same low rate FSA loan as my commodity farming neighbours. I would venture to guess my land loan (the only one I could get) is 3% higher than folks who could get FSA loans, and I’ve heard worse stories from different parts of the country (and better ones as well)
Also, with high CRP payments these days it can be difficult to find rental pasture … Some farmers realize the government pays more for CRP than a farmer could for rent … And yes pasture is ending up in CRP …
Those are just a few issues, of course I have some benefits, but the other farmers could easily access those if they wanted to …
In my experiences “beginning” farmers have advantages I don’t have access to even though I was not long ago a beginning farmer myself. they are eligible for beginning farmer loans at much lower interest rates than me just because I started out different than them and didn’t just dive in head first. they also are able to earn tax incentives for landlords that i also do not qualify for because I don’t have enough debt compared to equity. In many cases I believe the advantage is skewed toward the beginning farmer
I suppose it’s all in your perspective of a beginning farmer … I started from scratch with nothing … thus I wasn’t eligable for beginning farmer loans. You need three years farm management experience for those (and what qualifies for that experience depends on the FSA person you talk to it seems). So, I have a very high interest loan … the only one I could get.
Ethan, are you aware that woman in farming are considered “socially disadvantaged ?” Recently I applied for a USDA loan with 1% interest for 50 acres to raise hogs. My husband and I farm together but the loan was going to be in my name alone due to the great rate. At the last minute we withdrew our application and decided we wanted much LESS from our government instead of more. We were heading down a slippery slope and we elected to jump off. But something for you to consider
Donna … There is that … I think you have a good point. In fact a friend of my that is smart with all this investment stuff and venture capital guys has actually reached out to some people about private investing in small scale farms (with solid business plans). That sounds like a better idea to me than the government … In an interesting idea at least for those interested in investing in rural economies (and I think people like that are out there)
I think the government gets int he way of small farmers — more than “new” or “beginning” farmers.
Many of the rules and regulations make it entirely too cumbersome to be able to produce high quality food on a small scale. Many of these regulations appear to be on the surface to ensure food safety, but in reality are there to create roadblocks for small farmers and tipping the scales towards large industrial farms.
Jeff
Synergistic Acres – Kansas City Natural Farm
why lobby against your farm neighbors? I don’t think they are wasting time lobbying against beginning or small farms. Maybe trying to learn from some people who have farmed their whole lives would be a better strategy. The big farms didn’t get that that way by using bad management practices. Doesn’t seem neighborly to fight against them
Anonymous … I guess I don’t see how I was lobbying against my neighbor. In fact everything I was talking about would help any sort of beginning farmer. The beginning farmers on this trip were farming everything from conventional livestock ranches to market gardens to dairies … nothing really against anyone. The only thing is that some of them were direct marketing. As for working and learning from my neighbors … well I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t! They’ve answered questions, helped me with hay, helped plant corn and prep the fields … and I’ve gone and helped them as well pulling wagons and working livestock.