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Politics, seed prices, uninformed consumers top farm table issues

For the past several weeks, I have spent as much time on the road as I have behind a microphone. I have crisscrossed the Hoosier State, plus added few trips across the Corn Belt. While traveling can be a grind, it is also a great learning experience.

I have had the chance to visit and share a meal with a wide variety of farmers and other ag folk and have learned a lot about what is really going on in agriculture and what is really important to the men and woman who produce our food, fiber and fuel. What follows are a few notes, observations, and a few jokes from my road trips across rural America.

Fill a room with about 75 farmers and their wives, put a huge and excellently prepared pork chop on their plates, and you will generate a lively discussion about all aspects of agriculture and rural life. That was the scene at Bill and Betty Bobe’s in Washington, Ind.

A topic that produced almost unanimous agreement was the price of seed corn. While most of the growers appreciated the benefits of the triple stack hybrids, they also felt the skyrocketing price and increases in technology fees were excessive. They did not question the benefits, but they did question the value. This quickly led to a broader discussion of the other costs that have jumped considerably in the past two years including the price of fertilizer and rental rates. Traditionally, farmers have invested in new technology to increase production and efficiency as a way of improving profits. The day may soon be coming when farmers will face the choice of growing more and making less, or producing less and making more profit.

A subject that produced great amusement was the silly choices many consumers make because they do not understand where their food comes from or how it is produced. For example, the “free-range, vegetarian chicken” produced quite a laugh from farmers who knew that chickens left free to wander will eat all sorts of sundry and strange objects, many of which are not appetizing.
The consensus was that if consumers knew what free-range chickens really ate, they would not be so quick to buy them. One person told me he had seen a stand at the Bloomington Farmers Market selling “free-range, grass-fed pork.” This elicited snickers from several pork producers in the room.

Politics was another hot topic, especially when the district director of the local congressional representative stopped in to see what was on the farmers’ minds. After listening to them express concern about how Farm Bill programs were being implemented and the slowness of disaster payments (most were still waiting for payments from the 2008 floods), the director explained how government worked.

He told the story of a scrap metal pile that was causing a problem. The town council decided to hire a guard to watch over the pile. They then hired a supervisor to watch over the guard. They then set up a 5-member commission to watch over the supervisor, and a town council committee was established to work with the commission. A year later the council discovered the project was $40,000 over budget. The town council then voted unanimously to fire the guard.

During several of these meetings, I was struck by the difference between a gathering of rural folks and city folks. For example, during a meeting at the Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper, Ind., the sense of community was quite evident. The meal was served family style, and, as we passed around some of the best fried chicken in the state, the conversation was about neighbors and friends, the high school ball game, church and family activities.
While small town life is often the butt of jokes, it offers a sense of belonging that our larger cities have lost. In suburbia, people live close to each other, but do not even know their neighbors’ names. In rural communities, neighbors are separated by miles of farmland, yet know their neighbors very well.

Finally when you get off the interstate and take the time to wander around our small towns, you can find some big surprises. For example, while having lunch in French Lick, Ind., I discovered a bit of history. Sitting unpretentiously along a railroad siding was a restored Pullman train car. It was the car that President Harry Truman used for his campaign in 1948. The United States presidential election of 1948 is considered by most historians as the greatest election upset in American history.

Virtually every prediction (with or without public opinion polls) indicated that incumbent President Harry S. Truman would be defeated by Republican Thomas E. Dewey. Truman won, overcoming a three-way split in his own party. He did it with this train car. He employed what became known as “whistle stop” speeches delivered from the rear of the presidential train.
The longest trip was 15 days, covered 8,300 miles, and took Truman from Pennsylvania to California. Truman’s “whistle stops” were a combination of great politics and great theatre.

He shook hands with voters, signed autographs and made wisecracks about his opponents. He took his campaign to the American people in a way that has not been done since. It is also significant that Truman was the last Corn Belt farmer to occupy the White House.

The farmers I spent time with want to take their case to the American people. They want people to understand that the food, fiber and fuel that they produce are safe for people and safe for the environment.

They want our elected leaders to understand that rural America is an important place with virtues and values that are important not only to the people who live there but to our society as a whole. Consumers and Congressmen need to spend less time in the cities and more time in rural America.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.

2/10/2010