Jim’s family farms 960 acres of land around Dale City, Iowa, and has since the 1850s. They live on the South Raccoon River, which flooded two times this summer, pretty much destroying their corn and soybean crops; 220 acres were completely under water. The rest of their crops were severely damaged, and their fields were left littered with tree stumps and silt. Now Jim is not sure what he’ll feed his cows this winter.
Jim is not alone. It’s estimated that 100,000 family farmers in the Midwest are in immediate danger of losing their farms due to this summer’s flooding. Another 100,000 face longterm financial problems. And when a farm family loses their land, they lose their home, their heritage and their livelihood. They lose everything. Many of these families move to cities, where they end up standing in unemployment tines.
This Thanksgiving, we should be grateful for America’s farm families. As a boy growing up in Texas, I was taught that farmers are the backbone of our country. When they go under, the rest of us lose, too. Every time five farmers go out of business, one Main Street business closes down. The loss of family farms affects everyone on the economic ladder, from small service stations, grocery stores and rural banks all the way up to General Motors.
Farmers forced off their land because of the flood of ‘93 means fewer people to buy pickup trucks, tractors, farm equipment, paint for their barns. Fewer family farmers in the fields means fewer jobs in factories and stores across the country. The flood of 1993 didn’t end when the rain stopped falling. It is still continuing in our cities and in our rural communities, in the fields of Dale City and in the auto plants of Detroit.
I am thankful for the help people like Jim are receiving. We all saw the pictures of thousands of courageous volunteers working day and night to keep the flooding Mississippi River from destroying their farms and communities. It made me proud to be an American. And when the TV cameras went home, when the politicians went home, these people stayed, because they were home. And Farm Aid has stayed with them.
But volunteers alone won’t be enough to save all of these family farmers. We also need government action. Floodstricken farmers need more disaster assistance from Washington to help them survive a long, cold winter with no harvest. And we have to make sure that farmers don’t get tangled up in government red tape as they try to rebuild their future.
Because the average farm family makes only about $4,000 a year from farming, most of them were already working second jobs off the farm just to make ends meet.
Over the years, as I’ve traveled across the country, I have met thousands of families like the Lonsdales: proud, independent people who just want to work hard and make a decent living from the land. Yet every year there are fewer and fewer family farmers left to grow our food.
The reason for this is pretty simple: farmers are not getting a fair return for their crops and their labor. Often it takes more to produce a bushel of corn than a farmer can get for it. Farmers are paid less for their crops today than they were 10 years ago, even though food prices and farmers’ production costs have continued to rise.
In 1980 it took less than 12,000 bushels of corn for a farmer to buy a new John Deere tractor. In 1991 it took almost 32,000 bushels of corn to buy an equivalent tractor. Farmers now receive less than a nickel for a $1 loaf of bread and a dime for a $3 box of cereal.
Something has to change. We need a new farm policy that makes sure that farmers will be able to make a living through natural disasters like this summer’s flood. It’s time to rebuild our country from the ground up by supporting those families who grow our food and care for our soil. Until we do, thousands of farm families will continue to go under, taking schools, hospitals and businesses down with them.
Jim Lonsdale is getting help as he tries to recover from this disastrous flood. Once the soil begins to dry out, volunteers will be in Jim’s fields rebuilding the fences that keep his livestock from running free. And he’ll be there in the spring, hoping for a chance to make an honest living from the land.
The first Thanksgiving was a celebration of the harvest, a celebration of a new land and the hard-working people who put food on the table. A lot has changed since then. But despite all the changes, one thing is as true today as it was 350 years ago: family farmers are the supporting rung of our economic ladder. Thanksgiving for the harvest and respect for the people that nurture the soil and sow the seed are parts of America that I don’t think we can afford to lose.
The fight to save family farms isn’t just about farmers. It’s about making sure that there is a safe and healthy food supply for all of us. It’s about jobs, not just in Dale City, but in Des Moines and Detroit. It’s about a better America.
So when we sit down for our Thanksgiving dinner, let’s remember to give thanks for the Lonsdale family and the thousands of families like it who are struggling to overcome the flood of ‘93 and to put food on our tables. Let’s remember their hard work and their strength. And after we’re finished giving thanks, let’s all start to make sure that farmers Re Jim will be around next Thanksgiving.
