55 Years And Counting From The Tractor Seat

By bill whitman

 Let me first say, this is not a political article. I just listened to the State of the Union address on TV. I saw many things that made me proud to be an American. I was especially proud, as a veteran, to see Medals of Honor given to two very deserving soldiers. I waited and waited for agriculture to come up, but alas, it did not. It brought me to the conclusion that much like we have had to do for the last 250 years, we will have no other choice but to speak for ourselves. And you know what? I think people will listen.

For all the failures of the American educational system, we have a population that understand facts. They understand the price of the groceries that are required to feed their families. They understand the price of gas at their local gas station. What they don’t understand is how fragile the industry is that gives them these vital needs. They assume that it goes on all the time and they have gotten used to the rhetoric that they have heard literally all their lives, yet they never really understood.

I’m writing to enlist each of us to take advantage of every opportunity to talk about agriculture. No one knows your part of it better than you do. It’s important, never more important than it is right now, today. People need to understand that the very industry that provides their first need to sustain life, food, is on the verge of collapse. While parts of government, through state run ag-assisted services, have started programs to meet the psychological needs of farmers and ranchers, I suggest the recognition is late. Some might recall that I have sounded the alarm about the number of suicides experienced by our farmers and ranchers across the country over the past three years.

What I have learned is whether these farmers are on the verge of bankruptcy or doing quite well, they “see” what is happening to our beloved American agriculture. The pressure becomes unbearable. As an American farmer, one who has loved this work since Charles Hann handed me my very first pay, and who still remembers receiving checks (back in the day we received checks) from selling grain through the local elevator for soybeans that had hit $11/bushel in the late 70s, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that just as our forefathers, we can survive. More than that, we can show that the American people can and must believe that though relatively quiet, we have provided the strength of the backbone this country has survived with since its inception 250 years ago. And the strength is far more valuable than money… it’s their food. Used as trade value with other countries since the Marshall Plan to feed our own masses, of our own country, our innate strength of courage, work ethic and integrity has maintained our place as the most important stone in the foundation of our soon-to-be 250-year-old country.

Our biggest asset in dealing with this is simply defined. We have far more control than we realize. Think of the importance of just a small percentage of what we spend on inputs. What if we follow the Matt and Kelly Griggs operational business model and cut out the extra expenses and look strictly at profitability of our business rather than strive for more yields. Yields without increased profit only fill the pockets of the middleman. It demonstrates the exact problem with our economy… churning cash does not generate economic gain.

ROI (Return On Investment) has become a cliché. Now we must use it to our own advantage. Determine how ROI applies to our own businesses not our vendors. This will send a message to the economy it needs to hear. We’re not a victim, we are survivors, and more than that, we are stronger than the country, the world for that matter understands. In articles to come, I will explain my further thoughts as to how we can turn our thinking from an industry under attack to a people that remain the strength of America. And don’t forget, share your pride in being an American farmer or rancher.

Horse Sense: No one can do for you better than what you do for yourself!

IndianaAg@bluemarble.net