wfn.org | Consultation explores ways to serve those affected by farm crisis

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 29, 1999	News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.    10-21-24-71B{165}

By Deanna Armstrong*

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UMNS) -- All across the nation's heartland the story is
the same. One farm family after another is being forced to sell out of the
family operation because they cannot make a living off the prices they are
getting for their crops and livestock.

The 14th annual Town and Country Consultation, sponsored by Saint Paul
School of Theology and the Heartland Network, held March 23-25 in Kansas
City, focused on the farm issue that is threatening rural America.
Participants from nine states came together to explore ways to minister to
communities affected by the current crisis. They were stunned by what they
learned. 

"It's frightening to see the big picture," said Glenn Fogo of Johnson, Kans.
"It confirms what we are seeing in our area. Even if there is no solution to
the economic crisis, I appreciate having some tools to help the community
find ways to deal with the crisis."

Tom Watson, a pastor from Randall County Minnesota, said he came to the
consultation because of  the bleakness of the situation in his county.
"We've lost 15 farmers already this year. We saw a 20 percent  increase in
foreclosures between 1992 and 1997. This year we expect another 20 percent
will go out. I am hoping to get some information that will help."

In the last few years prices for farm commodities have fallen dramatically.
At the end of 1998, one half of the nation's farm families did not have
enough farm income to pay their annual expenses.  North Dakota's farm income
was down 90 percent from last year. Nebraska's was down 40 percent.
Statistics are similar in South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. Currently
a glut of hogs has destroyed any chance of hog farmers turning a profit.
Grain prices are low again, and cattle operations have been facing hard
times as well. The value of farm land and other assets have plummeted,
leaving farmers less equity to rely upon when incomes don't meet costs, and
forcing many to foreclose or sell out.

William Heffernan, a sociologist from the University of Missouri, told
participants the current crisis is the result of the food system becoming
highly concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations, which allows
for greater manipulation of prices, and more influence over government
policies and regulations. International politics and economic markets have
also contributed to the situation. 

This is not a new problem, between 600,000 and 800,000 farmers lost their
farms in the 1980s when prices bottomed out of farm commodities.  Heffernan
said the loss of farm populations is anticipated to accelerate over what it
was in the 1980's when the last farm crisis hit the nation. Heffernan said
the issue really was a food system issue, not just a farm crisis.  "The
large companies are gobbling up small farms to make a greater profit for
their shareholders and are threatening the food chain." 

At present, three percent of the nation's farms produce more than 50 percent
of the world's output, he said.  Proposed mergers between mega corporations
like Cargill and Continental will allow them to control over 80 percent of
the grain market of the world.  Currently there are between 300,000 and
500,000 farm operations in the United States which are producing most of the
nation's food. 

Heffernan said many economists and major agribusinesses have determined that
with advanced technology and larger operations, only 20,000 to 30,000 farms
are needed to provide all the food supply for the world. Heffernan and
others estimate that by the end of the next decade there may be only 20,000
to 30,000 farms in America.  The number of acres farmed won't decrease, just
the farm population. Family farmers will be forced to sell to larger
operations or to work another job to make ends meet. 

"A concentration of ownership means a concentration of power and control,"
Heffernan continued.  "Big business controls the regulatory process.  The
issue is not the structure of agriculture, the issue is food.  Food is
different from other economic issues, food is a necessity."

"We also have the issues of food safety and security.  Presently there is a
two-week supply of food in any given metropolitan area. Less than seven
percent of the food supply in metropolitan areas comes from within a 100
mile radius. Because of deregulation and food traveling  across interstate
lines, we can no longer assure the chemical content and purity of the food
we get."  

Ed Kail, chair of Town and Country Ministries at Saint Paul School of
Theology,  told participants the faith community has a crucial role to play
in the current situation. "The church must be ready to intervene and respond
to the devastation of communities caused by the rapid integration and
concentration of economic power within the American food system.  The church
must question the root causes of the current distress and be ready to
advocate for social justice." 

The financial crisis creates social and emotional problems for the farm
families and their community. Farmers often see themselves as failures; they
withdraw from family and friends and become depressed, sometimes to the
point of becoming suicidal or physically ill. They will do everything they
can to stay involved in farming and the land, and will often use up all
their resources before they will leave. Often pride keeps them from asking
for help.

The foreclosures and sell-outs affected not only the family farms, but the
surrounding areas as well. According to Kail, for every seven farms that
fail, one business in the community will go under.  As people leave the
farm, they are not only leaving their livelihood but in many cases their
family heritage and their ties with their community. The connective tissue
of the community is destroyed. The entire community suffers the grief. Judy
Heffernan, director of the Heartland Network said it is was important to
find ways to honor the memories and to work through the grief process with
farm families.  

Kail explained that intervention in any part of the system can have an
impact on the system as a whole. "That means if we can impact the subsystems
around us, we can change the system. Any small thing we do to help farm
families will have some affect on the loop. Anything we do to act as an
advocacy group will influence the whole. If you have some impact on the way
land is transferred, you will have an opportunity for impact on the whole."

TheTown and Country Consultations grew out of a movement to establish an
endowed chair for Town and Country ministries at Saint Paul School of
Theology. The  consultations provide continuing training for rural ministry.
In the last decade, the Center for Rural Ministries has become an important
partner in the consultations. 

#  #  #
*Armstrong is a Kansas City, Mo.,-based correspondent for United Methodist
News Service.

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