We as farmers are always told you have to be big to be efficient, which means going out of business for so many farmers. This whole country is being run by big business, with little concern for the workers, the environment or small towns.
OMG, Art! How many nails can you hit on the head at the same time! The eighth or ninth paragraph is, for me, the most damming. Right above the 'throw another log on the fire' for reference. Vote for Chris Jones, all of us, please! Thanks Art.
Farmers make the traditional error of expecting their living from the crop , whether it be plant or animal. Without announcement, the real harvest is made in the Margin, the ethereal field between the Farmer and the Consumer. This is forbidden to those who grow and those who consume. And it is growing.
Iowa’s rural and small town voters are largely conservative, even through the devolution from Robert Ray to Kim Reynolds. Will they learn from history and alter their support of Republican policies? I fear not. About 30% of any given population is willing to subject themselves and the country to an authoritarian regime. See, Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum.
Art, this is another excellent description of so true facts of our agricultural industry in Iowa! Here in eastern Iowa nobody seems to challenge these facts and they are of at least equal significance for us EASTERN IOWA citizens. As af farmer at Heart-and Mind with a lifelong career (in Agriculture as Feed Salesman and Dairy Nutritionist, I wish, I could write as well as Art and therefore, I would like to seek permission to bring this column to my local papers: THE NORTH SCOTT PRESS, ELdridge, IA and THE QUAD CITY TIMES, Davenport, IA. Please advise me of what I might help to make this possible! Keep writing about the FACTS!
and still, we're a red state, throughout all of the midwest...what the hell happened to "iowa nice"? the very things that these states talk against are exactly what they vote for...time for the red draped maga contingency to release its cephalic appendage out of its rectal orifice and vote appropriately.
We probaby need a Federal Law that says "no one gets utility rates lower than residential rates. We could evn include stepped up rates for excessive usage. I doubt this would slow ag or Data Centers, but at least they'd be attempting to reduce usage and residential rate payers wouldn't be covering the bill.
More than 10 years ago, scientists at the U of I proved by checking ZIP codes of veterans at the VA that people living within 1 mile of a CAFO had nearly 3X more chance of getting antibiotic resistance. Meanwhile downtown small towns die as a Wal-Mart and Dollar store take over on the outskirts. We've been killing ourselves with this stuff for decades - environmentally and economically. True anti-trust enforcement is the only way to stop the pain, but I doubt it can reverse decades of damage.
Another topic perhaps, but related I believe, is the consolidation of schools. As small rural towns have been hollowed out, so has support for small town school districts. This has a ripple effect - families/ small business customers move closer to where the surviving schools are, if they don’t want their kids to ride a bus an hour+ each way to and from the school.
Consolidation of everything from schools to fire districts to various industries all gets done in the name of efficiency. Quality of life for common folks gets lost and confused in the shuffle.
Just performed my third wedding in prison. Last year, I was contacted by a traveling nurse from Omaha. She was shopping for a wedding officiant to perform inside Clarinda Correctional Facility. I said yes and a new world opened. The Des Moines Register liked the idea and we were featured in a Sunday edition. It appears in my website.(www.jamesstordahl.com)
Now I appear to have a type of 'calling'? I have attached photos.
Your "Crapped in the nest" is so good and so sad at the same time. Your keen insight and way with words is a true treasure for all to hear. Thank you.
I have no training or experience in economics or farming. What I know of those things is entirely from my own reading, especially from reading Art Cullen. But my understanding of what I’ve read may be mistaken and I’d appreciated being corrected where I’m wrong.
Food production, it seems, is a special case in our economy because people don’t have a choice between eating and not-eating. Starving isn't an option. The economist John Kenneth Galbraith wrote that American farmers need government support to ensure a stable supply of food based on the following principles:
*Stable Incomes: He emphasized the importance of ensuring that farmers have a reliable income, which is crucial for their survival and the overall food supply.
*Government Support: Galbraith argued for government policies that would provide price supports for agricultural crops, helping to shield farmers from the volatility of market conditions.
*Food Security: He recognized that a stable farming sector is vital for national food security, suggesting that intervention is justified to prevent potential crises in food supply.
I think Art Cullen would agree, but I’d appreciate any comments/corrections from this community of readers.
Yep…if folks don’t spend some time paying attention to issues and how misleading tv ads can influence their vote things will only get worse! And when there is an awakening, it will be too late. This No ember is a very, very important opportunity for voters to show that they are paying attention to preserving our representative democracy. We will see if Iowans and the nation are paying attention or asleep at the switch!!
We as farmers are always told you have to be big to be efficient, which means going out of business for so many farmers. This whole country is being run by big business, with little concern for the workers, the environment or small towns.
Zero concern
OMG, Art! How many nails can you hit on the head at the same time! The eighth or ninth paragraph is, for me, the most damming. Right above the 'throw another log on the fire' for reference. Vote for Chris Jones, all of us, please! Thanks Art.
I'll be thinking of those 66,000lbs of shit attributable to me as I choose to walk past the pork chop on a stick shack at the fair.
Agree with the sentiment, but the chop on the stick, slathered in salt, is beyond compare.
Farmers make the traditional error of expecting their living from the crop , whether it be plant or animal. Without announcement, the real harvest is made in the Margin, the ethereal field between the Farmer and the Consumer. This is forbidden to those who grow and those who consume. And it is growing.
Iowa’s rural and small town voters are largely conservative, even through the devolution from Robert Ray to Kim Reynolds. Will they learn from history and alter their support of Republican policies? I fear not. About 30% of any given population is willing to subject themselves and the country to an authoritarian regime. See, Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum.
Less people making more money..no matter what the enterprise, the narrative seems to be the same...so much for trickle down economics.
Art, this is another excellent description of so true facts of our agricultural industry in Iowa! Here in eastern Iowa nobody seems to challenge these facts and they are of at least equal significance for us EASTERN IOWA citizens. As af farmer at Heart-and Mind with a lifelong career (in Agriculture as Feed Salesman and Dairy Nutritionist, I wish, I could write as well as Art and therefore, I would like to seek permission to bring this column to my local papers: THE NORTH SCOTT PRESS, ELdridge, IA and THE QUAD CITY TIMES, Davenport, IA. Please advise me of what I might help to make this possible! Keep writing about the FACTS!
Thanks go for it and give my regards to North Scott Press!
and still, we're a red state, throughout all of the midwest...what the hell happened to "iowa nice"? the very things that these states talk against are exactly what they vote for...time for the red draped maga contingency to release its cephalic appendage out of its rectal orifice and vote appropriately.
We probaby need a Federal Law that says "no one gets utility rates lower than residential rates. We could evn include stepped up rates for excessive usage. I doubt this would slow ag or Data Centers, but at least they'd be attempting to reduce usage and residential rate payers wouldn't be covering the bill.
More than 10 years ago, scientists at the U of I proved by checking ZIP codes of veterans at the VA that people living within 1 mile of a CAFO had nearly 3X more chance of getting antibiotic resistance. Meanwhile downtown small towns die as a Wal-Mart and Dollar store take over on the outskirts. We've been killing ourselves with this stuff for decades - environmentally and economically. True anti-trust enforcement is the only way to stop the pain, but I doubt it can reverse decades of damage.
Another topic perhaps, but related I believe, is the consolidation of schools. As small rural towns have been hollowed out, so has support for small town school districts. This has a ripple effect - families/ small business customers move closer to where the surviving schools are, if they don’t want their kids to ride a bus an hour+ each way to and from the school.
Consolidation of everything from schools to fire districts to various industries all gets done in the name of efficiency. Quality of life for common folks gets lost and confused in the shuffle.
Agribiz has always been the greatest enemy of small/family farms. Not just in IA.
Everywhere.
That’s a powerful piece beautifully written, Art. Thanks.
Just performed my third wedding in prison. Last year, I was contacted by a traveling nurse from Omaha. She was shopping for a wedding officiant to perform inside Clarinda Correctional Facility. I said yes and a new world opened. The Des Moines Register liked the idea and we were featured in a Sunday edition. It appears in my website.(www.jamesstordahl.com)
Now I appear to have a type of 'calling'? I have attached photos.
Your "Crapped in the nest" is so good and so sad at the same time. Your keen insight and way with words is a true treasure for all to hear. Thank you.
I have no training or experience in economics or farming. What I know of those things is entirely from my own reading, especially from reading Art Cullen. But my understanding of what I’ve read may be mistaken and I’d appreciated being corrected where I’m wrong.
Food production, it seems, is a special case in our economy because people don’t have a choice between eating and not-eating. Starving isn't an option. The economist John Kenneth Galbraith wrote that American farmers need government support to ensure a stable supply of food based on the following principles:
*Stable Incomes: He emphasized the importance of ensuring that farmers have a reliable income, which is crucial for their survival and the overall food supply.
*Government Support: Galbraith argued for government policies that would provide price supports for agricultural crops, helping to shield farmers from the volatility of market conditions.
*Food Security: He recognized that a stable farming sector is vital for national food security, suggesting that intervention is justified to prevent potential crises in food supply.
I think Art Cullen would agree, but I’d appreciate any comments/corrections from this community of readers.
Yep…if folks don’t spend some time paying attention to issues and how misleading tv ads can influence their vote things will only get worse! And when there is an awakening, it will be too late. This No ember is a very, very important opportunity for voters to show that they are paying attention to preserving our representative democracy. We will see if Iowans and the nation are paying attention or asleep at the switch!!