Are we barking up the wrong tree with this "us vs them" debate that is so
typical of just about every issue out there? The key, I think, is to ask
the right questions.
Huh..., me?, I dunno', how about, "Should we really grow corn and beans on
18% slopes?", or, "What's the point of farming anyway?" (If anyone says "to
feed the world"...!) Old ag production books say kids are the most
important crop on a farm. How about that!, focusing on people! Egads! I
mean what are our goals here? Do we look for solutions to problems or do
we try to find uses for technology that we have spent a lot of time and $$
developing?
And of course...Farmers want to sustain themselves, their livelihoods and
homes, to stay on the land. Isn't that the promise of farming, well, was
at one time in a long time ago? If we think family farms are best, we
better focus on...family farms (you know, they provide their own labor,
management, capitol, and live on the farm). All the other stuff will
follow. Just ask any farm town business owner about the value of all these
"ineffecient" family farmers who don't know any better than to shop locally.
This is not romantic poppy-cock, is it? Somebody smarter than me help me
out here with more persuasive language. I guess I have real concerns about
50-100 years from now. What kind of rural landscape will we have? Will we
have an efficient nirvana of mega farms (run by machinery operators and
janitors called "operators") and a never ending vinyl sided parade of
homes? Who will own this? Who will get to fishin' and huntin' and hiking
in the countryside? Will there be any "countryside", or just parks and
wildlife reserves? Will the latest Disney movie keep us at happy? Will we
just regulate the two farms remaining in each county? (They will have paid
off the regulators, but hey, it'll be better than doing nothing.)
(Hey, talk about losing it, this guy's a wacko for sure!)
Gotta go.
Karl Hakanson
Natural Resources Educator
Univ. of Wisc.-Coop. Extension
Baraboo, Wisconsin-USA
tel: 608.355.3258
karl.hakanson@ces.uwex.edu
Karl Hakanson
Natural Resources Educator
Univ. of Wisc.-Coop. Extension
Baraboo, Wisconsin-USA
tel: 608.355.3258
karl.hakanson@ces.uwex.edu
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