A Farmer's Worst Enemy?

dtd24 · May 17, 2007

Way to always slam the developers daTeach. Don't the farmers sell the land to the developers? Not to mention it would seem to me the people (like me) who own these 5 acre farmettes usually do it as a hobby, because there would be no way to sustain a living on such a small piece of land. I would go further to think we help the local economy my supplimenting agricultural vendors like tractor sales, grain and hay for animals, tack shops etc....etc.....etc.

Not to spark a fire......just my input!!

Bob_Young · May 17, 2007

Well, I've got a couple more slams against subdivisions

1) the groundhogs get worse on farms near subdivisions because the coyotes transition to eating pet dogs and cats leaving the groundhogs alone.

2) People who live in subdivisions (some of them anyway) don't like to see people wandering around with rifles and don't appreciate the crack of a .22-250; so smacking the critters on adjoining farms becomes more difficult/less enjoyable.

Around here the groundhog population is just a fraction of what it was 40 years ago. The Coyotes have cleaned a lot of them out.
Bob

redlevel · May 17, 2007

New subdivision appears downwind of a hog or poultry operation that has been there 30-40 years. Within a year subdivision residents are petitioning county or municipal authorities to do something about the smell.

Farmwithjunk · May 17, 2007

dtd24 said:
Way to always slam the developers daTeach. Don't the farmers sell the land to the developers? Not to mention it would seem to me the people (like me) who own these 5 acre farmettes usually do it as a hobby, because there would be no way to sustain a living on such a small piece of land. I would go further to think we help the local economy my supplimenting agricultural vendors like tractor sales, grain and hay for animals, tack shops etc....etc.....etc.

Not to spark a fire......just my input!!

As a retired farmer who sold some land to a developer and currently own land that I hope will someday be developed, let me try to explain the farmers view from the developers point of view.

As rural areas develope, farmers can't buy or lease land at a respectable price where they can make a buck. Pressure from new homeowners in the once agricultural area to eliminate the late hours of planting, harvesting, and running cattle put a damper on their livelyhood. So does the now restricted use of roads. (Not LEGAL restrictions so much as saftey and access) The vendors who sell equipment and supplies to the "ranchette" (I like that word!) owners are the same vendors for the most part, but the equipment and much of the supplies are totally different. With these vendors having a new and increasing market with the acreage owners, they're beginning to burn bridges with their old customers, the farmer.

I know of 3 different farmers who had been on their land for generations. They had feedlot operations, all three. As property in the surrounding area began to develope, they were all three forced into shutting down their livelyhood due to constant lawsuits, harrasment by local authorities, and restricted access to roads. As an end result, all 3 sold their land for significantly more than their potential incomes, but that's not the issue. People should have the freedom to choose their own path through life, especially in light of the fact that they were "there first".

Just try to run a working farm in a subdivision

I bought 188 acres in the early 1970's. By the late 80's an industrial park surrounded me. My land increased in value 25-fold by 2005, compared to what I paid in 1970. It wasn't practical to continue farming, nor was it a safe environment to be running tractors up and down the roads around me. I caved, and cashed in. I made a bundle. I lost the place I planned on leaving in a pine box. The trip to the bank was a bittersweet moment.

Oh well... Times change. Gotta roll with the punches.

For the most part, farmers view developers as outsiders who have absolutely no regard for our lifestyle, our livelyhood, or our dreams. All they see is $$$$$$.

shvl73 · May 17, 2007

If the market for housing dries up, development will stop. Just don't count on it happening. When two people have more than two kids, the results should be obvious. Add immigration to the mix, legal or otherwise, and development is unavoidable. Any farmer/landowner may not like the growth and the loss of ag land/open space but, those that sell seem to like the payout it brings. I live in a fairly rural town but, I don't believe it will always be so. There are always complaints about current use and ag exemptions, taxwise, why don't people look further down the road and realize what happens when they don't allow those tax breaks? More houses, more children, larger schools, larger police and fire depts.= higher taxes for all.

skipmarcy · May 17, 2007

I remember in my childhood back in the early 60's the State of Conn. had a bounty on woodchucks. My friend and I used to shoot or gas them out. The local hardware store on the Green sold poisionous gas smoke bombs to throw down a burrow and they also paid the bounty - $2 for a left front paw. When we could, we would shoot them. Otherwise we would set a 6" jaw trap near the main hole and cover any other holes and smoke them out. The reason for the left front paw was because a woodchuck will bleed to death if cut in it's front feet. I worked one summer & fall with a groundskeeper and one of the big problems with the upscale lake homes was that groundhogs would burrow down beside a basement foundation to hibernate for the winters, not good when a 40 lb. woodchuck digs a hole(s) around your house. My boss would collect a bunch of liquor bottles from some local bars and we would throw a few shovels full of dirt in the hole, throw a couple bottles in and smash them with the shovel and finish filling the hole in loosely. The groundhog would dig it's hole back out and cut it's paws on the glass and go off & die. Woodchucks also have to gnaw on their incisors constantly or they will curl around and grow into their head and kill them - we have seen a couple that were well on their way to that demise. I guess that's one of the reasons you see them right at the edge of the road often - I think they are chewing rocks etc. and probably eating something as well.

shvl73 · May 17, 2007

New industry idea!
People credits!
Two people who want more than two children, pay two people who don't want children!
Alert the media!

WayneB · May 17, 2007

redlevel said:
New subdivision appears downwind of a hog or poultry operation that has been there 30-40 years. Within a year subdivision residents are petitioning county or municipal authorities to do something about the smell.

We have the same problem in our little town. Local guy has been farming for nearly 40 years (pig farmer) abutting land was sold and in comes a developer. The following year the farmer finds himself in court defending his right to make a living!

He told me city people should stay in the city because when they move into the country the first thing they want is street lights and then mail delivered to the front door!

Getting back to woodchucks, I kill everyone I see and I have a neighbor that feeds them! I told her she is fatting them up so they are easier to shoot! Go figure!

jeffinsgf · May 17, 2007

Well, I'll wade into this. I grew up in rural SW Missouri. Over half the kids I went to school with were farm kids of one sort or another. FFA was the biggest club in school (followed closely by Youth for Christ). Any of you who have ever been here know there's little in the way of crop land, so most farming here was either raising beef cattle, raising hogs or running a dairy.

I don't blame either the developers or the farmers for the demise of the small to mid-sized farm. I say that because the demise is happening even in areas where the development is minimal or nonexistent (Douglas county Missouri, for example).

The problem is huge agri-industry companies (ADM for one) that push everything toward huge operations. It is more and more difficult for a small cattle operator to find a market for his stock. Same with dairy. The buyers want to buy from herds of 500 to 1000 or more, not one or two hundred. The barriers to entry (cost of land, equipment, etc.) make it virtually impossible for someone who desires to farm for a living to "start". If you don't inherit a farm, you're not likely to ever be able to get in.

There are niche operations you can get into, if you can afford the land; vineyards, organic vegetables, exotic livestock, etc., but the traditional cattle, pork, grain crop or dairy farm is a dying breed, and I for one am sorry to see it go. WalMart is killing (or has killed) the small retailer and the US manufacturing base and ADM is killing the farms. And we all just sit back and watch.

I left Douglas county when I graduated high school in 1976 and ended up in Kansas City for a little over 20 years. I moved to Greene county, about 50 miles from where I grew up a couple years ago and bought 10 acres. It is a cut up section of a farm, but then just about all land in this country is, it's just a question of when it was cut up. It isn't a "development" and it isn't likely we'll see that in our part of the county anytime soon -- that's all on the south side of Springfield. I would like nothing better than to ditch my job and make a living as a farmer, but it is not even the least bit practical, and that is regrettable.