Farming Is Quite The Scary Prospect For Some [Opinion]

Paul Rusnak_zombifiedTrick or treat? Halloween is creeping up. So, what are you going to dress up as this year? How about a farmer? According to a recently published opine from The New York Times, that ‘costume’ would be quite a frightening sight. Think of the children, please!

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The editorial piece, penned by New York state seaweed/shellfish farmer Bren Smith and titled “Don’t Let Your Children Grow Up To Be Farmers,” paints the profession comparable to how producers of “The Walking Dead” portray a picnic. It’s not pretty out there — especially for many smaller operations. The dog-eat-dog world of corporate farming and frenzied foodies have definitely got this particular farmer-turned author down. Case in point from this passage: “The dirty secret of the food movement is that the much-celebrated small-scale farmer isn’t making a living. After the tools are put away, we head out to second and third jobs to keep our farms afloat.” Ouch! With more than 47,000 small farms in Florida, this type of scenario should be a major concern regarding the very infrastructure of our industry.

Bleeding Money

Though perhaps not quite comparing apples to oranges, especially considering the author’s locale and niche market, one of the most telling factoids from the piece encompasses all of our interests. “With the overwhelming majority of American farmers operating at a loss — the median farm income was -$1,453 in 2012 — farmers can barely keep the chickens fed and the lights on.” Talk about being in the red.

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In an attempt to confirm the flabbergasting figure, I also found, according to the USDA, farm income is expected to drop to -$1,626 in 2014. Seriously? But take that number with a grain of economic salt. Most farm households earn all of their income from off-farm sources, assures USDA. And median off-farm income is projected to increase by 3.7% in 2014 to $64,840. OK, so that adds up … sort of.

Still Alive

Regardless of how you crunch the numbers, that kind of household income isn’t going to ring the dinner bell for tomorrow’s job seekers to come and get it. True, you’re probably not going to get rich farming the land. I can say the same about being a journalist. Like farming, it’s not for everybody. Both are noble professions where workload mostly outweighs compensation. Despite the financial shortcomings, it is the right job for somebody who possesses the passion. And take heart, in the foreseeable future, people will still need to eat. Now that’s job security. For my sake, I couldn’t imagine a world that wouldn’t want to be entertained and informed. Perish the thought.

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