“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands.” Thomas Jefferson, 1785.
Do Jefferson’s words about our early American agrarian society sound about right to you? Sounds right to me, but outside of our rural communities, and what seems very distant from our work-a-day lives here at home and our way of life, is a growing need to “defend agriculture.”
In my work, we often speak of the changing role of agriculture, what is needed from family farmers to compete in a global economy today and what is the impact on our rural communities. Society has changed and so have the policy debates that impact agriculture and, therefore, our communities. According to Extension Sociology at Iowa State University, agriculture has been in a continual state of transition since the early 20th century, when changes in technology and infrastructure began to spur unprecedented shifts in farm structure and demographics and transformed the United States from a predominantly rural society to an urban one in a matter of decades (“Agriculture in Transition,” April 2010.)
At the outset of the 1900s, more than one-third of the U.S. population resided on around six million farms, another one-third lived in rural areas, and the remainder lived in urban centers. By 2000, the number of farms had decreased to just over two million; the farm population had declined to 2 percent of the U.S. total; and rural residents comprised only 21 percent of the nation’s population (“Agriculture in Transition,” April 2010). The majority of American society today is questioning failed agriculture policy. They are joining the debate, which in turn, now makes it about more than agriculture – it is a public policy debate around the issues related to agriculture.
The farm bill debate going on right now across the country and in Congress is being referred to as the Food, Farms and Jobs Bill. We can finally take into account that there are major public policy implications and outcomes. Food, conservation, energy and trade ... they are all on the table.
The USDA has hit the road with their positive message for agriculture. They are helping to define the role of agriculture around such issues as energy independence, national security, utilization and protection of natural resources and rural revitalization. In this election year, they know that 98 percent of the population of this country is with whom they need to speak and to educate the public about the benefits and role of agriculture in American society today. They are defending agriculture (Vilsack, USDA 2012) and so must we, if we are to maintain the virtues of which Jefferson spoke.
Recognize the unprecedented shifts in farm structure, the transformation to an urban society and a declining rural population and culture. Know these shifts are accompanied by major changes in U.S. food, farm and trade policy and that they are felt around the globe (American Corn Growers Institute for Public Policy, 2010.) You too, are a cultivator of the earth, a valuable citizen. Work to define and shape public policy, and you will make a difference.
Pam Horwitz lives and works in Bureau County. She is the executive director of the American Corn Growers Institute for Public Policy.