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Ag officials: Drastic drop in U.S. farms over 4 decades causing pain in rural areas
The Center Square ^ | Oct 17, 2023 | Andrew Hensel

Posted on 10/20/2023 10:22:13 AM PDT by george76

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a lack of farms throughout the country impacts families in more ways than one.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Illinois, and others discussed the state of farming in Illinois and elsewhere Monday in Kankakee. Vilsack told an agricultural panel that the country is losing farms in large quantities.

"I was surprised to learn that we've lost 438,000 farms since 1981," Vilsack said. "Just to give you a sense of how many farms that is, it is every farm in Iowa today, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, South Dekota, Nebraska and Colorado."

Over that same period, 141.1 million acres of former farmland are no longer being farmed today across the country.

Illinois is the top soybean producer in the country, with 15% of all U.S. soybeans being produced in Illinois. Vilsack said the lack of farms is impacting different areas.

"That's a lot of land," Vilsack said. "Are we OK with that?"

"It has an impact on communities because when you lose that many farms, you don't just lose those farms, you also lose the small businesses that depend on those farms," Vilsack said. "Which is why many small towns in this country today in rural places have empty storefronts."

According to Vilsack, the way to address the problems in farming is by creating more revenue streams for farmers, especially small and mid-sized farmers.

"The key here is for these farming operations in particular to have additional revenue streams that come in at the same time they're selling a crop, or selling livestock, or getting a government payment," Vilsack said.

Numbers from the Illinois Farm Bureau show that Illinois is the second top corn-producing state in the country, with 13% of our country's supply of corn being grown on Illinois farms. That farmland makes up 76% of Illinois land.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Alabama; US: Illinois; US: Indiana; US: Kansas
KEYWORDS: agriculture; biden; bidenvoters; farmers; farming; farmland; farms; greennewdeal; hh2; marxism; marxisttyranny; ranchers; ranching
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To: george76

Land is so expensive to get and to hang on to. There are real disconnects with the bubble heads in DC.


21 posted on 10/20/2023 11:23:00 AM PDT by virgil (The evil that men do lives after them )
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To: dfwgator

The kohlhozes are in turn similar to the large landed estates owned by the European aristocracy in the Middle Ages. Any centralized authority system, whether Communist, fascist, or feudal, wants to centralize the means of production as a means of social control. It is not Austrian economics, but antitrust laws serve a purpose of preventing the concentration of economic power, which in turn influences political power.


22 posted on 10/20/2023 11:33:44 AM PDT by Wallace T.
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To: cherry
A century ago, the major cities were surrounded by truck farms that provided much of the vegetable and dairy, as well as some of the fruit and meat. However, regions of the country, such as California for vegetables and fruit, Wisconsin for cheese, North Carolina for poultry, etc.

My paternal grandmother was born in Queens, New York, in 1892, at a time that what would become the New York City borough was largely farmland. The market was in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Queens and most of Long Island have long since become urbanized. However, far eastern Long Island and the Hudson Valley north of Interstate 84 could easily become major producers of farm products given farm friendly Federal and state governments.

23 posted on 10/20/2023 12:37:53 PM PDT by Wallace T.
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To: george76

24 posted on 10/20/2023 1:20:20 PM PDT by fso301
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To: KarlInOhio

Has actual agricultural production decreased? Are farms simply more efficient so less land is required to satisfy market demand without collapsing the price via overproduction? Lot of questions to answer.


25 posted on 10/20/2023 1:43:55 PM PDT by Bubba Ho-Tep ("The rat always knows when he's in with weasels."--Tom Waits)
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To: Nervous Tick

Appropriate for this thread and the times we’re in.

Food doesn’t just show up in grocery stores.


26 posted on 10/20/2023 2:02:43 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal (Jesus + Something = Nothing ; Jesus + Nothing = Everything )
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

Yes to # 2, small, really, but it matters somewhat.


27 posted on 10/20/2023 6:41:09 PM PDT by kawhill (kawhill)
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To: george76

I am guessing that gov’t is favoring importing food and throwing up obstacles blocking growing food here.


28 posted on 10/21/2023 1:34:05 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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To: Nervous Tick
These idiots are definitely trying to bring on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - I say the first rider is the Antichrist.



Lurkers, please click on my screen name to see my homepage for additional information.


29 posted on 10/21/2023 4:48:46 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: blueunicorn6

Remember Democrat Andrew Cuomo: you just dig a hole and put a seed in it

If there’s any farmer that votes Democrat after that.......


30 posted on 10/21/2023 4:50:00 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: blueunicorn6
[It’s worldwide, and it’s not good.]

Cripple the food supply worldwide - then make sure that people can only shop grocery stores that take the Digital Currency and the approved Mark, err, "tattoo" - Control the masses by using food as a weapon - it was one of the more remarkable things that Omen II got correct


31 posted on 10/21/2023 4:52:31 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: dfwgator
[All by design.]


32 posted on 10/21/2023 4:55:28 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: SaveFerris

For us sight challenged

33 posted on 10/21/2023 4:57:37 AM PDT by bert ( (KWE. NP. N.C. +12) Joe Biden is a kleptocrat)
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To: bert

👍👍👍

Good idea 💡


34 posted on 10/21/2023 5:00:14 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: george76

And Yet........... our Farmers Markets have lots of vendors selling all sorts of stuff they have produced.

And there are also lots of customers that come out to buy what they have to sell

Further......... many “working folk” don’t have time to actually cook and buy all sorts of prepared food

Last week I traveled through Alabama and Georgia.......... there is mile after mile after mile of un used cropland


35 posted on 10/21/2023 5:02:39 AM PDT by bert ( (KWE. NP. N.C. +12) Joe Biden is a kleptocrat)
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To: dfwgator; Nervous Tick; Roman_War_Criminal; null and void; Diogenesis; Travis McGee; Red Badger; ...
Robert Foxworth as Paul Buher in "Damien: Omen II"- while not Biblically-accurate - it has a few interesting scenes; like this one

Our profitable future ... lies also in famime

"Our profitable future ... lies also in famime"

People out there comparing Thorn Industries to Monsanto - heh
36 posted on 10/21/2023 5:07:34 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: george76

It’s their own dastardly policies.

Who couldn’t see that one coming, but likely it’s been part of the plan all along.


37 posted on 10/21/2023 7:38:19 AM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.)
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To: Wallace T.
They distrusted large cities and urban life.

Me too.

38 posted on 10/21/2023 8:49:06 AM PDT by tomkat
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To: george76

Well, this is interesting, because around me, quite a bit of land is being cleared and turned (turned back?) into cropland. All except for what was the field across the road which has been turned into storage & pre-shipment processing (5 silos, the 5th built a month ago - dang, those go up fast. The 1st 4 went up 2 summers ago, IIRC.) Corn, barley, and soybeans.

This activity seems to be mostly two large local family-operated farms, one of which is run by a fellow I’d guess is in his mid-late 40’s. BIG new house down the road from us. Quite a bit of equipment is based in “out buildings” and barns there too, although two big shelters protect equipment and / or trucks across the road from us too.

Almost all the uncultivated* land in this region is in parks, refuges, preserves, private woodlots, or National Forests.

*Mostly forested, with some harvesting in the woodlots & National Forests.


39 posted on 10/22/2023 12:04:47 AM PDT by Paul R. (Bin Laden wanted Obama killed so the incompetent VP, Biden, would become President!)
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To: Paul R.

I’d also add that since 1981, in my area quite a bit of private land has gone to parks, refuges, preserves, private woodlots, or National Forests.


40 posted on 10/22/2023 12:07:31 AM PDT by Paul R. (Bin Laden wanted Obama killed so the incompetent VP, Biden, would become President!)
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