What is a farm?

by Larry Gabriel

As the public debates a new farm bill we hear things like, "only 2 percent of the people in America are farmers and only about one-third of those get federal subsidies."

However, such claims are misleading without a fair definition of "farm". A farm, which includes ranches, is "any operation that sells a least one thousand dollars of agricultural commodities or that would have sold that amount of produce under normal circumstances," according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

That definition explains why 94 percent of American farms are "small" and most receive no federal subsidies. Small operations are often done as a hobby or for lifestyle, not to support a family.

Having a meaningful discussion about federal farm policy is very difficult when "farm" means something most of us would not view as a farm.

Farm policy might make more sense if Congress defined a "farm" as an agricultural operation from which the operator derived at least half his household income. Do we want farms that actually produce something significant while supporting a family?

If that were the federal definition of farm, how many farms would be left? How many of those would need subsidies? Probably no one knows the answers. However, the nature of the debate would change dramatically if most of the current "farms" disappeared from the discussion due to a working definition more closely resembling reality.

The farm subsidy programs began in the early 1940s as a means of restoring the population and economy of the Great Plains after many rural people left due to hard times in the 1930s.

Total farm numbers in the United States flattened out about 1910, peaked in 1935, and have steadily declined since. Farm size has steadily risen at a comparable rate.

Some farms are productive. "Family farms" in the large and very large categories are less than 8 percent of all farms but account for 53 percent of farm production. Are those the farms our farm bill should promote?

Despite all we hear about nonfamily (corporate) farms, they are only 2 percent of all farms and account for only about 13 percent of production.

About 29 percent of all farms have owners who list farming as their occupation. That group owns 40 percent of the farm land. Are those the farms our farm bill should promote?

Almost two thirds of US farms are in categories USDA calls “limited resource, retirement and residential lifestyle" and produce very little (9 percent of farm output). Are those the farms our farm bill should promote?

The federal government has changed the definition of "farm" nine times since 1850. Maybe it is time for them to take another stab at getting it right.

Larry is the South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture


The smooth-mouth team roping finals

By Julie Carter

All it takes for someone to decide there needs to be a new club, association or way of measuring skill among peers, is for a couple of forward-thinking individuals to decide it needs done for an assortment of reasons.

Such was the birth of the Smooth-Mouth Roper Association, at one time known as the old-timers association followed by a more politically correct name upgrade to "senior" ropers association.

Jim and Ned were genuine highly qualified lifers at ranching, roping and rodeoing. Blessed with a number of similarly competent and similarly aged friends, they decided to create a place to compete for only those with their same lifetime of experience.

The consensus was that cowboy attire does not include ball caps, tennis shoes or bling bling and answering a cell phone while in arena during competition was not an attribute to anyone's roping skill. They formed this association tailored to the requirements of full-grown men that had lived to see 45 years or older. Maturity was optional.

Familiar with the structure used in an assortment of associations ranging from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to the Sunday school class, Jim and Ned made an executive decision to avoid too many fools making too many rules.

To solve the problems associated with that process they included every rule they had ever heard and then, showing that with maturity comes the wisdom of flexibility, they declared only the rules that seemed appropriate at the time would be enforced.

Jim and Ned gave the new cowboy member, Jesse, the full rundown of rules and regulations including the specified number of approved ropings he must attend. If he placed in enough of them and qualified for the Winner's Ropings he could also qualify for the Smooth-Mouth Finals at the end of the year.

The only other requirement to make a run at the year-end awards was to gather up all the entry fees, roper numbers, fill out the forms and have all the documents and cash to the association office in plenty of time - or he couldn't rope.

Jim and Ned left out the "flexibility" feature of the rules when they indoctrinated him into the smooth-mouthed bunch.

After a successful season, Jesse, arrived at the four-day finals to the sounds of the loud speaker announcing that if anyone wanted to enter, they just needed to go to the office. There were extra headers, heelers, extra ropings and hey, if you wanted to join the association at that time so you could rope, that also would be arranged.

Jesse and his partners gave each run their best shot, taking dead aim at the trophy saddle that was to be awarded to the top ropers. In spite of a necessary rerun because one heeler roped the flagman who happened to be a little close to his work, Jesse was the likely candidate to win the whole deal - and did.

With the flexibility rule in full play, one of the other saddle contenders offered a bribe to one of Jesse's heeler and then was overheard complaining because he was out four dollars and still didn't get the saddle. Nobody said these guys were high rollers.

Roping early so they could compete before their daily pain killers, anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers wore off, the finals rolled to a close. The cowboys went home with complete respect for one another's competency and competitive abilities, along with the flexibility of the rules.

The only rule Jim and Ned enforced was the five dollar fine for whining. No money was collected for the multiple infractions of that rule; validating just how flexible this association of mature whiners is.

© Julie Carter 2006