“Old McDonald” had one. Many country songs are based on one. Some families rely on one for income. Groceries are filled with products from different ones. What is this mystery place? The answer is a farm.
Today, farming is a booming industry and is mass producing large amounts of corn, soybeans, wheat, and various other crops to help feed people all around the world. Since the 1950s, crop production has greatly increased. Instead of just planting enough food for a single family, farmers are planting crops over many acres of land and are receiving an increased yield and profit.
Many tend to disagree with today’s farming techniques. However, Dr. William Bailey, director of Western Illinois University’s School of Agriculture, discussed the farmer's and agriculturalist's point of view on various topics of environmentalism and technology affecting a farmer’s ability to produce crops.
Before becoming a professor and director at WIU, Bailey graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Trade from the University of Idaho, a Master of Arts in Education from Pepperdine University, a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Idaho, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri. Bailey worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington D.C. for nearly 10 years. He also worked at General Mills, Inc. and was a professor and director in agribusiness at Massey University in New Zealand. He has also received awards from the USDA for personal achievement.
Many organic farmers and citizens around the world feel that the mass production of crops is devastating to our health. These increased yields are the result of Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs. GMOs are a type of crop developed in a lab in which the internal makeup of the crop is altered. This alteration allows crops to be resistant to pesticides and herbicides, which prevent the growth and spread of insects and weeds, respectively. Studies, shown in movies such as “King Corn” and “The Future of Food,” suggest that these crops are directly responsible for obesity and juvenile diabetes.
“There is no evidence that products made using GMO ingredients are either more or less harmful to consumers than non-GMO ingredients,” Bailey said. “GMO technology is key to the ability of farmers to produce enough food to feed the world.”
According to Today in Science History, early farmer Charles Newbold tried to improve upon the heavy wood and cast iron plow imported from Scotland in the late 1700s. However, farmers refused to buy them because they believed that the iron would poison the soil. For those who used this plow, no soil poisoning was ever reported. Bailey feels that this situation from the past is very similar to how today’s consumers feel about GMOs in the global food supply.
“Similar concerns arise, either from farmers or consumers, whenever technology provides an opportunity for a change in production,” Bailey explained.
What about environmental issues? Many organic farmers and environmentalists claim that farms use many chemicals that run off into streams or poison the air around farmland.
However, what critics do not know, according to Bailey, is that farmers are making every effort to combat against this danger to the environment. There are many environmentally safe methods, to not only protect crops, but also prevent weeds and insects without chemicals.
Bailey suggests methods such as cultivation (preparation of the land), planting the crop in a timely fashion, fire, and cover crops, which are crops planted mainly to manage weeds and insects. An example, Bailey said, would be planting turnips, but not harvesting them with the leaves, which, in turn, will kill weeds.
However, although these methods are cheaper, they do reduce the amount of crops produced. Therefore, there is still a presence of pesticides and herbicides in farming. Farmers, who are producing large yields of crops, do have to use these chemicals to be able to produce a profitable yield.
“Frankly, farmers would prefer not to buy herbicides and pesticides, but must in order to farm the large number of acres most people deal with,” said Bailey.
Critics also feel farmers should go back to running small farms that only produce enough food to feed their families or local communities. Bailey feels that farmers should have the right to choose how they want to produce crops and what they should grow. He makes no arguments that local produce is likely fresher and more nutritious than imported foods.
However, Bailey argues that trying to force agriculture into past patterns would have very unpleasant consequences for farmers.
“Returning to the 1950s is an attempt to make the prosperous farmers of today into peasants. In 1956, per capita farm income was $2,300. In 2010, it was $36,000,” Bailey said. “I really don’t believe anyone would benefit from agriculture going back in time.”
Contrary to popular belief from movies and researchers, these profits, which farmers make directly from their crops, are the only income they receive. Farmers do not obtain subsidies from the government to produce crops. The government only mandates ethanol levels in gasoline, and importation of sugar into the U.S.
While farming does have some environmental set backs, such as herbicides and insecticides, consumers would not have many of the foods they eat today without them. Farmers are making efforts to help the environment, provide food for the world, and make profits for their families.
Without today’s farming techniques, people, even those in apartment buildings and cities, would likely have to grow their own food and grow their own livestock for meat. Therefore, those individuals, who dislike today’s farming practices, do not understand the effort and the products needed for farmers to feed the world and try to keep it as safe as they possibly can.
“The further someone is from production agriculture, the greater is the assumption that farmers are significant polluters,” said Bailey. “Farmers make every effort to be good environmental stewards. They understand that pollution is harmful and inefficient.”
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