wfn.org | Farm alarm: Rural families hope GA report grows a bumper crop of support

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7348 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

22-July-2002
02257

Farm alarm 

Rural families hope GA report grows a bumper crop of support

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - South Dakota ranchers Carolyn and Jerry Petik have seen the water supply go down, the pastures dry up and the churches shut their doors.

Since the 1980s, the Presbyterian couple, who grow barley, oats, alfalfa and hay and raise cattle, have seen their rural community in the northwestern corner of the state go through some drastic changes. 

"We will probably put up only 2 or 3 percent of the hay that we've put up in the past," says Jerry Petik. "Many of the acres we're not going to do anything with, because there's nothing out there."

Over time, the Petiks and their partners - Jerry's brother, Jim, and his wife, Kim - have waved goodbye to friends and neighbors who have left their farms and ranches near Meadow because of a triple whammy: bad prices, bad farm policy and bad weather.

These days, the survival of the family farm in the United States is in question because of an escalating economic crisis. Unless a miracle happens soon, a broad swath of rural America may be swept away, a casualty of the farming industry's shift from family-sized operations to corporate mega-farming.

Help may now be on the way, thanks to the Petiks' determination, the faithfulness of their small prairie church and an action taken by last month's 214th General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The commissioners in Columbus adopted a report, We Are What We Eat, that challenges the entire PC(USA) to get involved in issues relating to food production and consumption. The paper was approved in response to a farm-crisis overture enacted by the 211th Assembly in 1999.

"This report is being addressed to the whole church, not just to rural folks," says Diana Stephen, the denomination's associate for network support for rural and small-church ministries. "It includes rural, suburban and urban (people), and really calls them to participate in what I would describe as 'responsible decision-making' regarding how you purchase your food and how you consume your food. And to be aware of the issues, because it affects a lot of family farmers and ranchers."

The Petiks helped in the creation and promotion of the 1999 overture, whose official sponsor was the Presbytery of South Dakota. Also among the measure's originators were 40-member Hope Presbyterian Church in Keldron, SD (about 200 miles north of Rapid City), and its women's group.

The seven-member study group that prepared the report hope the GA's recent action will help make PC(USA) more aware of the current plight of family farmers. 

The troubles facing rural congregations are so severe that the General Assembly Committee on Evangelism and Witness attached its own comment that it hopes the paper will be "a positive step toward revitalization of rural congregations."

"If a church closes, those folks aren't likely to go to another Presbyterian church further away," Carolyn Petik says. "They just won't be Presbyterian anymore. If there is another rural church or another denomination in that community that they feel fairly comfortable with, they will join that church."

The report's authors want Presbyterians to think about how their food is produced and how Goliath agribusinesses dominate the world food market.

"I don't think the farmers in this country are asking for a handout, as such," says retired Presbyterian farmer Fred Brust, a study group member and chair of the PC(USA)'s advisory committee on rural ministry. "But they would like to be able to compete on a fair and level basis."

Brust, who grew corn and soybeans on his farm near Union Mills, IN, said the report's writers hope it will spark advocacy in the PC(USA) and create support for legislation that would provide just compensation to family farmers and ranchers. 

"I think it's all farmers, not particularly Presbyterian farmers, but I think no denomination can do everything on their own," Brust says. "I think farmers need to know somebody is aware of their problems. One person can't solve it, but collectively if everyone does a little bit, it helps."

For the Rev. Dick Poppen, also a study-group member, the report is an important breakthrough because it calls the farm crisis an "agricultural revolution."

"Honestly, I would call it a revolution in agriculture that we're in the greatest throes of," said Poppen, a tent-making pastor from DeSmet, SD. "I think in this particular time, because we're dealing with so many different dynamics - large corporate control, genetic engineering and the control of food production - the real question is, 'Who's going to produce and who is going to control the food resources that we have?'"

More than half of the 11,000-plus PC(USA) congregations are in rural communities.

With crop prices plummeting, many farmers are going bust and losing hope. 

"The children aren't going to stay," says the Rev. Peter Funch, executive of the Presbytery of South Dakota. "There isn't anyplace for them to work. There isn't anyplace for them to make a life."

The report urges church members and governing bodies to try "to influence the agricultural revolution" by doing such things as praying for farmers, agricultural workers, rural churches and communities, directors and employees of trans-national corporations, and legislators. It urges Presbyterians to make responsible choices "as we make choices related to the food we produce, process and consume," and to "learn first-hand about these issues" by speaking with farmers and ranchers.

Larry Lamont, who grows corn and soybeans and raises cattle on his farm in Hopkinton, IA, describes the report as manna from heaven.

"I think the report is well-written, and I think it will help," he says. "It has the church's perspective, and we must always remember  as that rural community goes, and as the farmer goes, so goes the rural church."

The farm-crisis report asks churchgoers to "witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ" by:

* Contacting legislators, mentioning their connection with the PC(USA) and urging support of legislation to benefit family-owned and -operated farms and ranches;

* Encouraging discussion of issues that can divide rural communities, congregations and families; and,

* Advocating on behalf of family farmers with multinational corporations "as shareholder and/or board member and/or food consumer."

Printed copies of We Are What We Eat and a related study guide will be available this fall from Stephen's office. Contact her by phone (toll-free) at (888) 728-7228, ext. 5232, or by email at dstephen@ctr.pcusa.org. 
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