Farms disappearing at alarming rates

   / Farms disappearing at alarming rates #71  
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   / Farms disappearing at alarming rates #72  
I grew up farming, but didn't have as much interest in it until I had already started another career. We own some land and always rented a quarter from my uncle down the road. But with land prices and inputs, I could never make it pencil out without some type of lottery. We are out in the high plains, so it eliminates some of the more creative farming options aside from better rotations and no-till/min-till. After my Dad passed away, we farmed it on the weekends for several years. It was tough without living there.

We now rent it out to local people we know, so I do feel good helping them (crop share renting does make a lot of financial sense for them). My brother now lives out there and he is going to try some small scale stuff, but we'll still rent out the bulk of it.

We moved to a bit wetter part of the state on 5 acres. I'd really like to buy the rest of the quarter I'm on or a nearby quarter. But it will always just be a hobby. Most farmers would call me a fool if I left my current W2 job.

My main goal now is to get my kids exposed to some farm life even on a small scale. It has gone well and they really like it.
 
   / Farms disappearing at alarming rates #73  
This was the biggest land grab ever....Foxconn....people booted off their farms and houses.

The Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park was established to provide a site for the Foxconn campus and factory in Mount Pleasant. The area was declared "blighted" and was designated a redevelopment area in order to take all the private properties deemed necessary for the project.[37] The roughly 4 square miles (10 km2) of land necessary for the site was in part made possible by forcing property owners to sell at a fixed price under the threat of seizing the land under eminent domain.[38] Hundreds of residents were moved out of their homes and family farms.[39] Under state law, a municipality may take and demolish properties if it determines a property to be blighted and thus make way for redevelopment.

Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park - Wikipedia

The last holdout just sold their 407 acres for 76 million.

Microsoft just paid $76 million for a Wisconsin pumpkin farm
 
   / Farms disappearing at alarming rates #74  
ruffdog said:
This was the biggest land grab ever....Foxconn....people booted off their farms and houses.

The Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park was established to provide a site for the Foxconn campus and factory in Mount Pleasant. The area was declared "blighted" and was designated a redevelopment area in order to take all the private properties deemed necessary for the project.[37] The roughly 4 square miles (10 km2) of land necessary for the site was in part made possible by forcing property owners to sell at a fixed price under the threat of seizing the land under eminent domain.[38] Hundreds of residents were moved out of their homes and family farms.[39] Under state law, a municipality may take and demolish properties if it determines a property to be blighted and thus make way for redevelopment.

Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park - Wikipedia
Click to expand...

Yeah, there are a lot of messed up cases like this. Look up the "super slab" in Colorado. They wanted to seize a 12 mile wide swath for a toll road. It didn't happen in the end.
 
   / Farms disappearing at alarming rates
  • Thread Starter
#75  
My great uncle owned a 550 acre farm in Breezewood, PA.
They bought it during the depression shortly after they immigrated from Europe in the 1930’s. They were convinced H*tler would invade the US and felt more safe there than near the Eastern seaboard.

They raised cattle, hay, and also had a nice stand of timber and some oil derricks pumping for the oil companies. From what I was told, it was a nice operation when farms made money.
Then when the PA Turnpike was built, part of their land was siezed to build a “cloverleaf” for the Turnpike. They continued on with ~450 acres on both sides of the Turnpike. My mom & dad took us there as small children, but I have no memories.

Now I drive right through it when I go to see my daughter at college in Ohio.
 
   / Farms disappearing at alarming rates #76  
ruffdog said:
This was the biggest land grab ever....Foxconn....people booted off their farms and houses.

The Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park was established to provide a site for the Foxconn campus and factory in Mount Pleasant. The area was declared "blighted" and was designated a redevelopment area in order to take all the private properties deemed necessary for the project.[37] The roughly 4 square miles (10 km2) of land necessary for the site was in part made possible by forcing property owners to sell at a fixed price under the threat of seizing the land under eminent domain.[38] Hundreds of residents were moved out of their homes and family farms.[39] Under state law, a municipality may take and demolish properties if it determines a property to be blighted and thus make way for redevelopment.

Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park - Wikipedia

The last holdout just sold their 407 acres for 76 million.

Microsoft just paid $76 million for a Wisconsin pumpkin farm
Click to expand...
That's just horrible.

Look who was at the ground breaking.
 
   / Farms disappearing at alarming rates #77  
I am in dairy country;there used to be about 27 family farms milking 50-100 cows.Now there are three left milking 1K-2K each.Just no money for the small guy any-more.
Even the Amish got out of milking;they only did 25-50 by hand.
The big guys spend money like water on land and equipment.
 
   / Farms disappearing at alarming rates #78  
I'm not a big fan of regulations, but I would be for a law that prohibits ownership of property by non-citizens. Also prohibit occupancy of US territory by foreign governments except when part of an embassy or consulate.

Other countries should do the same thing. Foreign individuals can lease/rent. Entities owned all or in part by a foreign government have no business even occupying non-embassy space in another country.
 
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   / Farms disappearing at alarming rates #79  
"From 1964 to 1997, the total number of farms with milk cows in Virginia decreased 95%".

I think my county also has three dairy producers left. Maybe a couple of hundred cows between them.

My place was a family owned milk producer that ceased in the late 60's.

One of the first things we did to the dairy barn was gut the milking equipment out of it. I still have the original 1920-1940 Milk Vat sitting in a corner. Stainless steel, no one wants it, and well, it is part of the farm, so it stays. We have pics hanging in the house of the second owner Milking cows. History. Respect.
 
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