# Alarming Numbers.



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

In addition it was noted yesterday that Minnesota also lost over 300 farms in 2016. Very disappointing to see what is happening at such a high rate.

Regards, Mike

http://www.agweb.com/article/iowa-nebraska-echo-national-decline-in-number-of-farms-apnews/


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## notmydaytoday (Sep 16, 2016)

I don't know any numbers but I know a lot of land around me is being bought up by hunting clubs at high prices and not used for anything but hunting.

So they are making it even harder to get stared or grow your farm, hay,or livestock operation here when they are paying twice what land use to sale for because someone once shot a nice deer there.

I know it takes a lot of land and hard work to make a living no matter what you raise. I think that is why most of my older neighbors kids moved to town and claim that they will never move back to that kind of life style. 

I am lucky I guess as this is the life I want and a least one of my boys want the same kind so we will be learning how to raise hay, cows, and whatever else to make our place grow to something more that just daydreams and wishes with a lot of hard work long hours off farm jobs and some good advice. I think we will be ok.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Not so much hunting clubs here but we do have a rather well to do doctor that keeps buying up land then rents it to only one person, also have an investment group in the area that does the same. Then of course have the guy in the area that married into the Lester Sumrall family, a grand daughter I think. If he cant rent a piece he just buys it instead. But at least all this is farmed yet.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

mlappin said:


> Not so much hunting clubs here but we do have a rather well to do doctor that keeps buying up land then rents it to only one person, also have an investment group in the area that does the same. Then of course have the guy in the area that married into the Lester Sumrall family, a grand daughter I think. If he cant rent a piece he just buys it instead. But at least all this is farmed yet.


Same thing sorta has happened here with a well to do doctor buying up land to rent to a family friend.


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## hillside hay (Feb 4, 2013)

Shill buyers here too. Or CRP . That program has destroyed 10's of thousands of acres in NY. For what I've paid to reclaim that ground I should have mm over to Ohio and paid 10k per acre. In too deep now.


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## skyrydr2 (Oct 25, 2015)

Just wait for the government to ruin trade relations and then the farmers can all go on strike at the same time! Let all the slickers get hungry...then they might have a different outlook on things...


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

Around here it's "country subdivisions" all the dairy's are gone, a few hold out cattlemen, older farmers sell everything but a couple ac with there house in the middle then the city folk take over..


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I think there are some good Gov Programs and have participated in them . I am in favor of good conservation practices but I am not a fan of CREP or CRP or EQUIP. When I bought the last drill a guy told me I was crazy to have paid for mine . he got the money for a notill drill threw CREP.Later he told me he was trying to give the money back to get out of the commitment ,the things the government was requiring him to do were crazy.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Neighbor never did get the money the dealer promised they could get him for a notill Kinze planter he bought... I have no time for EQUIP. Its all standardized forms and no common sense decision making...


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## RuttedField (Apr 24, 2016)

I am good friends with an old dairy farmer who helped get EQUIP Implemented on the national level. The issue was the conservation practices they were cramming down farmers throats was too much and there needed to be a way to pay for them. It worked well then, BUT...and this is a huge BUT...the Soil and Water Conservation Districts were the governing body over the USDA-NRCS. That was because in 1934 the government knew the USDA-NRCS would get nowhere with government telling farmers what to do, so they had LOCAL representation as a sort of middleman. TimSouth and my wife serve in that capacity today, but the USDA-NRCS policy has changed...at least here in Maine.

The State Conservationist here HATES the soil and Water Conservation Districts and claims all information is confidential so essentially he is pushing the local control out. It is complete sheep poop because we all know anyone who has taken a dime from Government is listed on a website, but the governing body cannot get that same information? The Federal Court that determined the NRCS was in error is all online too. Yet the Soil and Water Conservation District cannot get a map from a NRCS Conservationist, though they are all online and free to download? It makes no sense.

But as Government got bigger, people accepted this. The USDA-NRCS has taken advantage of that and instead of going to local farmers who represent the county, they just institute silly rules as many of you state. It is true, and they have gotten away from the real issues like soil erosion and air quality, and instead focused on what is politically accepted...commonly called "green practices".

In short, when the USDA-NRCS pushed out the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, it became what congress in 1934 made sure was included, farm based reasoning and not politics! That is now gone. A case in point, the USDA-NRCS in Maine decided that "Beginner Farmer" status only means someone interested in soil health. In other words, "green practices"...organic farming, which is political farming, not beginning farmer.

I took a lot of flack on here for filing an appeal against the USDA-NRCS, but what many of you did not realize was I was bringing up the issue of not having an overseeing body which is the Soil and Water Conservation Districts. It was a huge win because a Federal Judge saw this abuse and agreed with me! It is unknown how many beginner farmers in Maine might have asked for technical assistance and got none because our State Conservationist decided to change the meaning of what a beginner farmer is. Now if they had included Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and those members agreed that beginner farmer meant soil health...organic farming...then that would have to be fine because the "system" worked. In this case, in Maine they circumvented the system all together.

But that was me, I took a stand.

The problem with farmers today is, they have the right to make a stand and change these silly rules, but no one joins the Soil and Water Conservation District, or the Farm Service Agency boards, or even shows up to their meetings. Instead...and I am sorry to say this, but they whine how the system is not working for them when they do not participate in the system. It would be like whining that Hilary Clinton is in office yet the person never went in to vote. SAME EXACT THING. You can be heard, I proved that with my appeal, but it takes farmers standing up.


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