Thanks to Liz Garst for sharing on this podcast. I want to make an exception to her statements regarding the 1985 Farm Bill. She said farmers weren’t forced to make changes. That was not totally true. We did have an option to have terraces built or adopt no-till and maintain waterways.
Our farm in southern Iowa was condemned, still have the paperwork, all operating loans from FmHA were suspended, we couldn’t sell or operate our farm until conservation work occurred on a main ditch that drained into a small lake.
We started operation of the farm in 1979, so the financial situation was not good. We had to come up with a cost share for the conservation work. Terraces along with building a pond and reworking the ditch was out of reach financially. Please note that the farm already had grass waterways. Our lowest cost option was the conservation work and no-till, but the financial burden in 1985 for a beginning farmer with a tight cash flow was a huge burden.
Perhaps the heavy handed actions of both FmHA and NRCS offices weren’t evident to a Garst, but they did occur at our household.
With pure grit and determination we survived and we never walked away from our debt. We have continued to practice no-till and maintain the waterways. The pond is silting in from the neighbors fields. They didn’t have to implement any changes, probably because they didn’t have FmHA financing. The lake it was designed to protect is no longer a source of drinking water and has been abandoned by the state of Iowa. It is now a County Conservation area. The NRCS said the ditch would be farmable, we wouldn’t need a tube crossing after their work. A year later, at our own cost we had to put in a new crossing to get to the back 80 of our farm. The ditch has reworked itself and the springs and side hill seeps are all back, they said we were wrong when we told them about its’ structure. Maintenance of all these “improvements” has been our responsibility.
So my correction to Ms. Garst’s position is that farmers who participate in any farm subsidy, loan or other financial supports from federal agencies can be forced to implement conservation practices, even if it could result in an insolvent situation.
Joyce- The federal and state cost share rules and the restrictions on financing with federal money are poorly understood by the broader public. Even less understood are the many side effects of supply control programs.....and those of the current heavy reliance on crop insurance policies.
I maintain that nobody should think about owning a farm unless he or she has a time horizon of 40 to 50 years to pay for it and properly care for it. With today’s prices of land, the figure should more like 80 years. All sad to say, but true.
So it will take many voices and perspectives and experiences (yours and Liz’s and those of all sized operations) to figure out how to revise our systems. There simply are no easy, pat answers.
Every time someone cries out for “land reform” I question what they mean. Many of us want cleaner water, healthier soil, but it seems few can either afford to farm or even wish to make the long term commitment.
🙂 I wish there would be more debate about solutions and less picking sides. . We believe in clean water and healthy soils. It is a Heritage Farm, so can tell many tales of financial challenges and unlikely heros, 80 years might be optimistic!
Thankyou Julie for hosting the podcast with Liz Garst. Very informative and thought provoking. Big Ag rules the roost and big money is driving a new farm bill. I am not sure anymore how we win hearts and minds, but the answer must involve our youth.
Thanks to Liz for all her insights. Let’s not forget the underfunding and lack of support for the Conservation Stewardship Program, the brainchild of Senator Tom Harkin.
The gray soils you see along the creeks is gray because most of silt has been washed out of the soil. The only time you see black is if it is wet, the soil doesn't hold that water, because the silt is no longer a part of the soil. Crop insurance combined with lower property taxes on farm land is unfair to the rest of us, tiling land and not dealing with the manure and over use of nitrogen is stupid. If we can't work together then we shouldn't give the farmers a dime for their crop innsurance.
I remember driving around north central Iowa in the eighties and seeing giant clouds of topsoil blowing away in the wind.
Thanks to Liz Garst for sharing on this podcast. I want to make an exception to her statements regarding the 1985 Farm Bill. She said farmers weren’t forced to make changes. That was not totally true. We did have an option to have terraces built or adopt no-till and maintain waterways.
Our farm in southern Iowa was condemned, still have the paperwork, all operating loans from FmHA were suspended, we couldn’t sell or operate our farm until conservation work occurred on a main ditch that drained into a small lake.
We started operation of the farm in 1979, so the financial situation was not good. We had to come up with a cost share for the conservation work. Terraces along with building a pond and reworking the ditch was out of reach financially. Please note that the farm already had grass waterways. Our lowest cost option was the conservation work and no-till, but the financial burden in 1985 for a beginning farmer with a tight cash flow was a huge burden.
Perhaps the heavy handed actions of both FmHA and NRCS offices weren’t evident to a Garst, but they did occur at our household.
With pure grit and determination we survived and we never walked away from our debt. We have continued to practice no-till and maintain the waterways. The pond is silting in from the neighbors fields. They didn’t have to implement any changes, probably because they didn’t have FmHA financing. The lake it was designed to protect is no longer a source of drinking water and has been abandoned by the state of Iowa. It is now a County Conservation area. The NRCS said the ditch would be farmable, we wouldn’t need a tube crossing after their work. A year later, at our own cost we had to put in a new crossing to get to the back 80 of our farm. The ditch has reworked itself and the springs and side hill seeps are all back, they said we were wrong when we told them about its’ structure. Maintenance of all these “improvements” has been our responsibility.
So my correction to Ms. Garst’s position is that farmers who participate in any farm subsidy, loan or other financial supports from federal agencies can be forced to implement conservation practices, even if it could result in an insolvent situation.
Joyce- The federal and state cost share rules and the restrictions on financing with federal money are poorly understood by the broader public. Even less understood are the many side effects of supply control programs.....and those of the current heavy reliance on crop insurance policies.
I maintain that nobody should think about owning a farm unless he or she has a time horizon of 40 to 50 years to pay for it and properly care for it. With today’s prices of land, the figure should more like 80 years. All sad to say, but true.
So it will take many voices and perspectives and experiences (yours and Liz’s and those of all sized operations) to figure out how to revise our systems. There simply are no easy, pat answers.
Every time someone cries out for “land reform” I question what they mean. Many of us want cleaner water, healthier soil, but it seems few can either afford to farm or even wish to make the long term commitment.
🙂 I wish there would be more debate about solutions and less picking sides. . We believe in clean water and healthy soils. It is a Heritage Farm, so can tell many tales of financial challenges and unlikely heros, 80 years might be optimistic!
Agreed about the need for civil debate! Also that we never really pay for the farm! It tells us which way to run to find more income….
Thanks for this important perspective, Joyce.
Thankyou Julie for hosting the podcast with Liz Garst. Very informative and thought provoking. Big Ag rules the roost and big money is driving a new farm bill. I am not sure anymore how we win hearts and minds, but the answer must involve our youth.
Thanks, Thomas. I appreciate you being a part of our group of subscribers.
Thanks to Liz for all her insights. Let’s not forget the underfunding and lack of support for the Conservation Stewardship Program, the brainchild of Senator Tom Harkin.
Thanks, Josiah! Good point.
The gray soils you see along the creeks is gray because most of silt has been washed out of the soil. The only time you see black is if it is wet, the soil doesn't hold that water, because the silt is no longer a part of the soil. Crop insurance combined with lower property taxes on farm land is unfair to the rest of us, tiling land and not dealing with the manure and over use of nitrogen is stupid. If we can't work together then we shouldn't give the farmers a dime for their crop innsurance.