About a year ago I wrote a letter to Senator Tom Harkin on behalf of my family expressing our concerns about the future of Dougherty and Sheffield, Iowa – the small, rural communities around which I grew up. In particular, I pointed out that, absent real payment limits and livestock market reforms in the farm bill, the family farms and rural communities around our small farm will continue to decline.

I pointed out that when I graduated from Sheffield-Chapin High School 25 years ago there were 11 active farms on the seven mile stretch of road between our farm and Sheffield – today there are three. I pointed out that we farm some of the best land in the world, and there should be lots of families with kids, farms with livestock, and lots of building for the future.

However, the final farm bill does not include meaningful payment limits. Nor does it go far enough in restoring competition in livestock markets. The cynicism about these reforms during the farm bill debate leads me to conclude that most senators and representatives have written off family farmers and ranchers and their rural communities. They write public policy in ways that assume there will not be another generation of family farmers and ranchers in rural America.

Thankfully, many rural Americans do not share that cynicism. There is a great and growing demand for information, advice, and assistance from the many people who seek a life and career in farming and ranching. Lately, that demand has increased dramatically.

From Linden, Alabama, to Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, and from Palermo, California, to Friend, Nebraska, people contact us because they want to begin farming or ranching.

Heidi, of Elkhart, Indiana, wrote, “My husband and I are so thrilled to find your website! We often hear that such resources and support exist, but had no idea where to look. … We hope to explore the potential for a small-scale, sustainable farm for CSA, etc.” Like many others, they want to be part of the small farm renaissance they see happening around them.

This farm bill debate demonstrates that the most fundamental answer to the recurring question of these essays can be found in the hopes and dreams of the would-be beginning farmers and ranchers that contact us every day. When farm and rural policy in this country is based on those hopes and dreams and not merely on Congressional cynicism – that is when we will know… “What it looks like when rural really matters.”

Contact: John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1010 with your comments, questions, and for more information on this article.