There is a shocking figure in this USDA article. I used it in this week's Farm Side, and found it so staggering that I came in from the barn this morning and looked up the original source to make sure I got the number right in the column
And I did.
"In fact 3000 acres of productive farmland are lost to development each day in this country."
Three thousand acres....
Back when I was a young hippy sort of person I had a mural painted on my refrigerator. It contained this quote, "Buy land, they stopped making it."
Although I found it in a homesteading book I was using to learn how to raise rabbits and cabbages, it appears to have originated with Mark Twain.
One way or another, it is certainly true.
Nevertheless, we are letting 3000 acres of it be paved or put under buildings every single day. At the same time droves of activists complain about modern farming methods, which serve to make the remaining acres more productive.
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7 comments:
Excellent point you raise. As a boy in the midwest (50+ years ago), I used to love seeing the sprawling herds of dairy cattle everywhere.
Nowadays you can drive clear across Missouri and maybe see three small herds.
Plenty of fields in cultivation, still, but for how much longer?
Farmers continue to produce more on less land but there is a limit.
A very sobering statistic. Actually : Depressing :(
With this greening in the citrus groves here some growers are having to sell. It is hard to push out thousands of trees and know there will not be a crop for seven years. Some will be able to hold on others will have to sell.
That just makes me SICK!!!!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife@wordpress.com
Rev. Paul, it is happening all around us. A development is marching inexorably right up to our east boundary. We can see the McDonald's sign from most of our fields. it is not a positive thing for this country, because along with the land goes the food producing expertise. We will miss it i think
Jan, there is. And activists are doing their best to bring it closer.
Cathy, so it is. i will be surprised if we are not the last generation to enjoy our little paradise as we do. But I spent some time on the sitting porch with our boy yesterday, admiring it. And talking.
ellie, I can't imagine how they can hang onto their land with their income gone. What a shame!
Linda, same here. Such a shame and not many people are paying attention.
My son in law has pushed thousands of trees and burned them and has thousands left to do. He is spraying extra heavy trying to hold on to something until they find a spray that will control this greening. It is like so many other things, it came in on fruit from another country. My heart breaks for farmers, you having to sell tour beloved cows, my kids losing there income until a new grove can produce and so many others just like this. At least this precious little Peggy is giving smiles to all of of through your pictures.
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