Rural U.S. becoming less relevant

I'm a country boy.  I was raised in the country and feel more comfortable driving down a dirt road than a six lane freeway -that's for sure.  I lived in one of America's largest cities for five years and enjoyed many different aspects of city life.  The abundance of recreational opportunities and cultural venues and diversity of foods, languages, and people creates an educational experience that opens your eyes to things that you might not get to see in your little town with a water tower spray painted with "Seniors of 1984".

We like to take family vacations and drive across the country and take it all in - from the sprawling cities and suburban areas to America's heartland with wide open spaces where the only thing you can see is central pivot irrigation systems irrigating crops in fields that approach the horizon.  There is no question that agriculture is very important to our country.  Recently the Secretary of Agriculture spoke and raised some eyebrows:

From the Houston Chronicle:

WASHINGTON - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has some harsh words for rural America: It's "becoming less and less relevant," he says.  A month after an election that Democrats won even as rural parts of the country voted overwhelmingly Republican, the former Democratic governor of Iowa told farm belt leaders this past week that he's frustrated with their internecine squabbles and says they need to be more strategic in picking political fights.

"It's time for us to have an adult conversation with folks in rural America," Vilsack said in a speech at a forum sponsored by the Farm Journal. "It's time for a different thought process here, in my view."
He said rural America's biggest assets - the food supply, recreational areas and energy, for example - can be overlooked by people elsewhere as the U.S. population shifts more to cities.
"Why is it that we don't have a farm bill?" said Vilsack. "It isn't just the differences of policy. It's the fact that rural America with a shrinking population is becoming less and less relevant to the politics of this country, and we had better recognize that and we better begin to reverse it."

One thing I've learned in my life is that we need each other.  We are interdependent and connected.  I'm concerned about the increasing balkanization in our Great Land between City folks and Rural folks, between the Rich and the Poor, and between Black and White and Brown and Yellow Americans.  Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew:

And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand."

We have become a polarized people, but have we really become that short-sighted where the food supply is overlooked by people living in the cities?  Really?  Are we so distanced from our agrarian roots that we have forgotten where our food comes from?  Although urban farming is a growing trend, it is the heartland, the rural areas of our great land, that produce the abundance of grains, fruits, vegetables that city and rural people eat.  The old adage, "Don't criticize a farmer with your mouth full," comes to mind.

Secretary Vilsack raises some interesting points.  There is no denying that the American farmer is an endangered species.  The average age of the farmer hovers around the age of 57, with more farm youth seeking life off the farm and moving to the vibrant, exciting, fast-moving life in the city.  More and more farmers are seeking off-farm income just to make ends meet as rising input costs threaten margins. 

There is a growing cultural divide between the inhabitants of urban and rural areas.  In speaking of the Farm Bill, Secretary Vilsack laments the lack of the 2012 Farm Bill's passage.  I hear over and over from people not involved in agriculture that "farmers are the biggest welfare queens," and that "farmers are paid not to plant their land."  To be honest, as in all government programs, there are definitely inefficiencies and wasteful spending.  I do agree with Secretary Vilsack that we need to find ways to communicate more effectively with our city friends and educate them to the plight of the family farmer and correct unfair stereotypes that cast the farmer in a bad light. 

Truthfully, the "Farm Bill" can hardly be classified as a Farm Bill.  As the pie chart below indicates, a full 80% of Farm Bill spending is attributable to funding the Food Stamp Program.  Only a fraction of the Farm Bill funds actual farm programs that assist the farmer, but the average American does not know this.  Because the US Department of Agriculture administers the Food Stamp Program, it is funded by the Farm Bill.



As a civilized society, I believe we do need to reach out and help our neighbors who need assistance with food.  We should have a "floor" or safety net to provide for those who have fallen on hard times.  They need us and we should provide humanitarian assistance to our fellow Americans.  I guess that is my point - we need each other.  City folks need the food grown in rural areas and rural folks need hungry city folks to buy food from farmers so that they can continue to produce the food that feeds our nation.

On a positive note, I really like the growing "Eat Local" movement in which people are encouraged to eat food that is locally produced.  Not only is that food more healthy and nutritious, but eating locally assists in breaking down geographic and cultural barriers between producer and consumer and enabling people to look each other in the eyes and get to know their farmer.  Getting to know your farmer builds those bonds that will hopefully help to move the perception of rural farmer from being irrelevant to being absolutely necessary!