During a January blizzard, a farmer, whom I didn’t know, called me. He said he reads my columns regularly. In plain-spoken farmer language, and with a gravelly voice, the gentleman wondered if I thought farming is changing.

I figured he was concerned about the upcoming crop year, and, he knows better than me how farming is changing.

So, I asked, “Crop and meat prices have been declining lately. What does that say about 2024 and ‘the big picture’ about how farming is changing?” It was fun to listen to him.

The farmer is like many U.S. farmers today, in his early 60s. He farms 4,000 acres of corn and soybeans, with three hired hands who help during spring, fall, and as needed. His wife manages the bookkeeping and the Farm Service Agency reporting requirements; she also oversees the household budget. They have three children, none of whom want to farm.

The couple owns 800 acres of inherited farmland, which includes what they purchased from his siblings, as per his parents’ estate plan. They pay cash rent to the owners of their other farmed acres.

Like half of all farmers in their state, according to Minnesota Soybean (www.mnsoybean.org), they use precision agriculture to manage fertilizer application according to the soil nutrients needed to produce maximum yields on all the land he farms, along with GMO seed that is tolerant to the herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides they apply.

The crusty, but amicable, farmer said, “Technology is driving agriculture. Farmers who rely on technology get bigger, while those that don’t, aren’t as efficient and end up having to quit farming. It’s like you say in your theory about why people farm, ‘the agrarian something – I can’t remember,’ poorer farmers get weeded out.  It’s always been that way.”

“Do you think technology will help farmers with the changeable weather that the world is experiencing,” I asked.

“No problem,” he said.  “We already have corn that tolerates drought and beans that can lay in the soil for three weeks if the weather’s too cold for them to germinate.”

“What about crop prices?” I asked.  “Do you have control over them?”

“I rely on my broker for advice,” the farmer answered. “Hedging, crop insurance, and our government (meaning the USDA) programs say they ‘cover’ us, but you never know until you need them.”

“Did you get supplemental payments on corn and soybeans from President Trump when he wanted to protect farmers who might get hurt after he imposed tariffs on imports from China,” I asked.

The farmer answered, “Let’s just say I’m still here (farming).”  

A reporter from a popular farm magazine called me two days later to ask pretty much the same question: “How is farming changing?” We have known each other for about 40 years.

I thought about answering her, but remembered what I learned from the farmer.  Instead, I turned the question back to her. “What are you finding when you talk with farmers?”

She answered readily, “Every farmer I talk with is certain that farming is changing.  Look at the demographics. Large farms are getting bigger, but fewer, and the number of small sustainable-type farm operations is increasing.”

“Please explain that,” I went on.

“Well,” she said, “Take the Practical Farmers of Iowa as an example. PFI went from a few dozen members in 1990 to over 6,000 members now.”

“Interest in farming organically and regeneratively is increasing everywhere, and without as many government incentives as large operations get. By regeneratively, I mean working with nature, like rotational grazing.”

“Can these methods compete effectively with the movement toward ever larger farms,” I asked.

“Look at sustainable markets,” the reporter answered. “Local producers deal mostly directly with their customers, or through organizations that help them merchandize their products. They reduce the steps from producer to consumer, and often do the processing themselves, like dairies that make and sell their own ice cream.

“Also, look at restaurants and institutions. They promote having organically grown and locally produced foods when they can.  Most grocery stores have organic food sections.”

She added, “Children of organic farmers are more likely to continue farming than kids who grow up on conventional farms.”

“Can these methods of food production compete with conventional agriculture, when it comes to such staples as flour, cooking oil, and ethanol?” I asked.

“Organic crops have gotten a bum rap,” the reporter replied. “The yields of organic soybeans often are higher than conventional crop yields. Corn and wheat, that’s a different story, because organic growers don’t use anhydrous ammonia; their yields are about 20 percent less.

“They rely on crop rotation and manure for their nitrogen. But, they don’t have the high costs for fertilizer, seed, and pesticides that conventional farmers have. Organic corn, wheat, and soybean prices are two-three times higher than for the same conventional crops.”

The farmer and the reporter had answered my questions. Judge for yourself which agricultural method works best. How agriculture is changing depends partly on who you ask.

Contact the author, Dr. Rosmann at: mike@agbehavioralhealth.com.