Farming

I recovered this from the original posting to publish it again for those that may not have seen it.    With the high cost of food today, labor shortages and climate change it is worth reviewing. 

 Farming is a risky business.   There is the weather to contend with, the market, and a certain amount of debt load to deal with.   Farmers usually don’t get a monthly income from the sale of their crops, but the bills keep coming in on a monthly basis making it necessary to take out loans.  Payments for crops can be lump sum or paid out periodically depending on the contract between grower and buyer.    It is usually the buyer or market that sets the price, not the farmer.   

Most farms are passed down from one generation to the next along with the same old risks.   There is the high cost of farm equipment, maintenance, fuel, soil amendments, fertilizers, seed, labor costs, insurance, overhead and more.   Profit margins can be slim.   Most of the labor on family farms are the family members and from experience I know they can be overworked and under paid.   Today many family farms are going under.  Personally I saw my own dad take on too big of a debt load where he got behind on payments and had to sell off everything to satisfy the bankers back in the 1960’s.   

Farming is highly mechanized.   Fifty years ago it took three tractors to do what one large tractor can do today.   The only difference back then was the operator was exposed to the weather, the noise and the dust.   There were a few hazards with the job, such as a hydraulic hose breaking and spraying oil on you or a flying piece of metal from some mechanism blowing apart.  Today the operator sits in an air conditioned cab with a radio, maybe a tape deck and the biggest hazard is falling asleep.   

Immigrant farm labor is critical for the crops that can’t be mechanically harvested.   Most the fruits, veggies and meat you see in the market was picked, slaughtered,  processed and packaged by somebody from south of the border.   They might be here illegally or under the H-2A agricultural work visa program and without these people there would be critical food shortages.    You do not see many white people doing this work.   

Next time you’re in the market think about where that food came from and who processed it.  Tomorrow it may not be there.