Letter from the Land-March 23, 2004

Let’s Put More Livestock on More Farms

By George Boody

ST. PAUL, Minn.—We’re hearing a lot these days about how Minnesota’s farming needs to become more concentrated, more corporate, more vertically integrated. The latest version of that argument came via the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, which, in a November report prepared by economist Brian Buhr, said that, “Other states are capitalizing on the new animal agriculture model (vertical coordination) by centralizing and streamlining regulatory processes/permitting and encouraging larger farm operations while Minnesota has lagged behind.”

Such an attitude is based on the assumption that it’s better to have more hogs, dairy cows and beef cattle concentrated on fewer operations than to have more livestock FARMS spread out across the state. It’s also based on the assumption that concentrating livestock in industrialized operations is the one and only option open to agriculture. Counting cows and pigs while ignoring the people will result in lots of animals all right—along with a handful of large-scale operations controlled by a few larger landowners and agribusinesses. That’s not good for independent family farmers, and it’s not good for our communities.

It’s been estimated that one dairy cow can generate $13,737 in economic activity. So, the more dairy cows on one farm, the more economic activity that operation produces for the community and the state, goes one argument. But where are the majority of those dollars generated going? To Main Street or to distant corporate offices and input suppliers? Research shows it depends on the size of the operation. A University of Wisconsin study found that the percentage of dairy feed purchased locally declines as herd size increases. A study of 1,106 Illinois towns showed an inverse relationship between the size of swine farms and local economic growth. Research as far back as the 1940s shows that rural communities benefit from having many family-sized farming operations in the region, as opposed to just a few mega-operations that generate economic activities for firms that may not be based in the country, let alone the state or community.

The belief that moderate sized family farms can play a positive role in community economic development isn’t some romanticized vision of the way it used to be. Ag Connect out of Lenox, Iowa, developed economic case studies for dairy farms in southern Iowa and northern Missouri between January 2001 and December 2002. Nine of the 10 participating families in the last year of the project were new to the dairy business since 1996. The average milking herd size was 60 cows, and the size of the farms ranged from 40 to 270 acres. In 2002, the 10 families used low-cost production methods such as management intensive rotational grazing to generate a total gross income of $942,596 from the sale of milk, which in turn was used to buy feed, services and building and production supplies from local businesses.

The promoters of mega-sized livestock operations continue to insist that their system of agriculture is the only option when it comes to having economically healthy rural communities. Increasingly, rural Minnesotans are questioning that assumption, particularly when they see legislative efforts to weaken local democracy and open the doors wide to wealthy foreign investors. When you get down to it, such policy initiatives assume it is best to concentrate more animals on fewer farms.

But cows and pigs don’t shop on Main Street—people do. How about an emphasis on putting more animals on more farms? That philosophy drives the “Citizen Task Force on Livestock Farmers and Rural Communities,” a new initiative involving Minnesota Farmers Union, Minnesota National Farmers Organization, the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota and the Land Stewardship Project. This task force believes livestock and livestock farmers play a key role in the economic and environmental health of our rural communities. Local investment in local farming operations is key if we are to keep the positive economic impacts of livestock farms in the community. The task force rejects the idea that the corporate takeover of independent family farming is inevitable or “natural.” Any system put in place by people can be changed by people.

Given that, the task force is making recommendations to policy makers and community leaders on how to increase the number and profitability of Minnesota livestock farmers in ways that benefit rural communities. The task force believes that increasing livestock numbers should not be an end in itself, but a means for increasing the number of successful farmers working the land in Minnesota.

And once you have successful farmers raising both livestock and crops on the land, all the economic activity that comes with such a diverse system of production will follow.

George Boody is the Executive Director of the Land Stewardship Project.