How My Opinion on Farmers Evolved Over Time

[8mm Enthusiast]

I hope you read this with an open mind. Before I got into hunting and shooting sports and even though I knew about sustainable farming, I was extremely supportive of common farmers, even ones who industrially farm their land. I had the opinion that they were simply in the crutches of big companies like Monsanto and all we had to do was to educate the "Good Ole Farmer Boys" to help them out.

Yet over the years my opinion changed as I started getting outside more and hunting on public land. Being someone who moved to my area newly and not having many connections, I hunt on 100% public land. I started constantly running into no trespassing private property signs, I started constantly seeing bare land being left by farmers in the winter without cover crops causing erosion of the soil. As I would walk from a wildlife area near a farmers land the change in biodiversity was drastic. You walk from one strip of land with all kinds of birds and bugs and mammals into basically dead land that has been stripped of its biodiversity and richness. I also became more conscious of this issue as I had to drive farther and farther from home to find suitable land to hunt certain species as everything around where I live is surrounded by farms.

As I started getting more and more into hunting and outdoor recreation, I also changed my diet to a healthy diet. I noticed that I consume ZERO corn and soybeans and most of the food I consume per the labels originates from South America, California, or Australia and New Zealand. Seeing this and seeing the millions if not billions of acres of corn and soybeans that decimate land which has so much potential to be a biodiverse cattle pasture, orchard, or organic vegetable farm is really heartbreaking. In my time as a worker in corporate america, I have also seen farmers and individuals who come from farmer families work full time in high paying positions. Many individuals work full time earning a high incoming while farming a couple of weekends in the spring to plant their crops. Couple this with the massive subsidies for corn and soybeans that my tax dollars pay for and the tax advantages that farmers have on their land, this really upset me to see just how much of freeloaders they are and how much they drain our society.

The recent events in the news about the sale of public lands was a horrifying event and made me even more aware of these issues. Couple this with deforestation in the Amazon, my opinion of the average industrial farmer has changed drastically. Don't get me wrong I have raised animals for profit myself and know the hard work it takes. Most crop farmers have zero animals these days, they have no diversity to their operation and have very minimal hands-off industrial farming techniques. Not to mention how they have pumped the air full of pesticides. I remember being young when we went outside, you had to avoid the bees, now there are barely any.

I hope this brings awareness to the destruction that modern agriculture is causing in our society due to greed. I see no purpose for billions of acres of corn and soy, billions of those acres could be used to feed us instead all of it goes into industrial products and ethanol while our food is imported from across the world.

 

[Winshortmag]

I hope you read this with an open mind. Before I got into hunting and shooting sports and even though I knew about sustainable farming, I was extremely supportive of common farmers, even ones who industrially farm their land. I had the opinion that they were simply in the crutches of big companies like Monsanto and all we had to do was to educate the "Good Ole Farmer Boy's" to help them out.

Yet over the years my opinion changed as I started getting outside more and hunting on public land. Being someone who moved to my area newly and not having many connections, I hunt on 100% public land. I started constantly running into no trespassing private property signs, I started constantly seeing bare land being left by farmers in the winter without cover crops causing erosion of the soil. As I would walk from a wildlife area near a farmers land the change in biodiversity was drastic. You walk from one strip of land with all kinds of birds and bugs and mammals into basically dead land that has been stripped of its biodiversity and richness. I also became more conscious of this issue as I had to drive farther and farther from home to find suitable land to hunt certain species as everything around where I live is surrounded by farms.

As I started getting more and more into hunting and outdoor recreation, I also changed my diet to a healthy diet. I noticed that I consume ZERO corn and soybeans and most of the food I consume per the labels originates from South America, California, or Australia and New Zealand. Seeing this and seeing the millions if not billions of acres of corn and soybeans that decimate land which has so much potential to be a biodiverse cattle pasture, orchard, or organic vegetable farm is really heartbreaking. In my time as a worker in corporate america, I have also seen farmers and individuals who come from farmer families work full time in high paying positions. Many individuals work full time earning a high incoming while farming a couple of weekends in the spring to plant their crops. Couple this with the massive subsidies for corn and soybeans that my tax dollars pay for and the tax advantages that farmers have on their land, this really upset me to see just how much of freeloaders they are and how much they drain our society.

The recent events in the news about the sale of public lands was a horrifying event and made me even more aware of these issues. Couple this with deforestation in the amazon, my opinion of the average industrial farmer has changed drastically. Don't get me wrong I have raised animals for profit myself and know the hard work it takes. Most crop farmers have zero animals these days, they have no diversity to their operation and have very minimal hands-off industrial farming techniques. Not to mention how they have pumped the air full of pesticides. I remember being young when we went outside, you had to avoid the bees, now there are barely any.

I hope this brings awareness to the destruction that modern agriculture is causing in our society due to greed. I see no purpose for billions of acres of corn and soy, billions of those acres could be used to feed us instead all of it goes into industrial products and ethanol while our food is imported from across the world.

This is a very complex topic.

 

[Wolfshead]

“Is causing in our society due to greed. “

I think this sums it up pretty good.
Greed and survival for some farmers.

 

[Ridge_Runner]

want to know how much farmers in your area gets? And believe me they play the system just like 3rd generation welfare recipients.

EWG's Farm Subsidy Database

EWG's Farm Subsidy Database put the issue on the map and is driving reform. Just ten percent of America's largest and richest farms collect almost three-fourths of federal farm subsidies; cash payments that often harm the environment.

farm.ewg.org

 

[clearwater]

Secretary of agriculture just announced there will be no amnesty for undocumented farm workers after all. Those on Medicaid will pick up the slack.

 

[PJGunner]

Secretary of agriculture just announced there will be no amnesty for undocumented farm workers after all. Those on Medicaid will pick up the slack.

And the farmer hauled another load away.
Paul B.

 

[8mm Enthusiast]

Proof of how modern agriculture degrades the soil. Native grasses have deep well developed roots whereas modern GMO crops have very shallow roots providing almost no protection to the soil from erosion and flooding. Also, industrial agricultural crop varieties do not have the thick and dense foliage required to create a canopy above the soil and cover it from the effects of direct sunlight.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

I know hear in Iowa something has to change every river between the Mississippi River and Missouri River in Iowa is unfit for drinking due to Farm Chemicals some time during the year. We have 7 out of 10 Farm well unfit for human consumption, We have increasing Cancer rates. When is enough enough ? I do believe if John Deere invented a planter that would drill through asphalt farmers here in Iowa would buy it !
In Iowa it use to be if a Farmer accidentally hit a telephone pole- Power Pole the utility company just took care of it and fixed it free of charge. That is no longer the case as it happens all the time now Farmers are sent a bill all because they want one more row of corn.
I worked on a conservation bill based off South Dakota Law of no agriculture or mowing or bailing the Grass in the Right of Way of roads till July 15th to protect ground nesting birds it took over three years to pass as the Farm bureau opposed it.
Why because in flat areas of Iowa Farmers were farming to the very edge of gravel roads which also leaves no grass to stop soil erosion when it rains. The mud just goes straight in the rivers, just like drain tile puts farm chemicals into the streams faster and also into the ground water.
In Iowa in the 1970-80’s if you did not terrace highly erodible hill ground you would be ineligible for any farm programs in the future, now fast forward to today farmers are having them taken out for another row of corn.
Anything in Nature is taking a beating today in Iowa.

 

[Firebird24]

And how do you think farmers opinions of hunters have changed over time?!
Rather than paint all farmers with a broad brush perhaps you could approach farm practices that you don’t agree with. And while you are at it share some positive feedback about farmers. Such as how whitetail deer populations have exploded with the agricultural boom. An open mind . . .

 

[8mm Enthusiast]

I know hear in Iowa something has to change every river between the Mississippi River and Missouri River in Iowa is unfit for drinking due to Farm Chemicals some time during the year. We have 7 out of 10 Farm well unfit for human consumption, We have increasing Cancer rates. When is enough enough ? I do believe if John Deere invented a planter that would drill through asphalt farmers here in Iowa would buy it !
In Iowa it use to be if a Farmer accidentally hit a telephone pole- Power Pole the utility company just took care of it and fixed it free of charge. That is no longer the case as it happens all the time now Farmers are sent a bill all because they want one more row of corn.
I worked on a conservation bill based off South Dakota Law of no agriculture or mowing or bailing the Grass in the Right of Way of roads till July 15th to protect ground nesting birds it took over three years to pass as the Farm bureau opposed it.
Why because in flat areas of Iowa Farmers were farming to the very edge of gravel roads which also leaves no grass to stop soil erosion when it rains. The mud just goes straight in the rivers, just like drain tile puts farm chemicals into the streams faster and also into the ground water.
In Iowa in the 1970-80’s if you did not terrace highly erodible hill ground you would be ineligible for any farm programs in the future, now fast forward to today farmers are having them taken out for another row of corn.
Anything in Nature is taking a beating today in Iowa.

It appears that the only winners in this situation are the farm equipment/seed supplier corporations and the farm lobbyists. We are constantly told by the media that farming is an incredibly complex and difficult operation, and that the majority of farmers are stressed to the point of illness and drowning in debt. In looking at that situation, it's understandable why they would strip out the last few meters of hedgerow and plant corn on every inch while dousing it with heavy fertilizers and pesticides. As with anything that has money involved, we don't truly know what the financial risks of intensive row cropping are. One thing is for sure: the equipment and seed companies, the lobbyists, and the whitetail industrial complex, with their guides and outfitters pushing the big antler obsession, are all fattening their pockets.

 

[8mm Enthusiast]

And how do you think farmers opinions of hunters have changed over time?!
Rather than paint all farmers with a broad brush perhaps you could approach farm practices that you don’t agree with. And while you are at it share some positive feedback about farmers. Such as how whitetail deer populations have exploded with the agricultural boom. An open mind . . .

I apologize if my original message seemed to lump all farmers into one category. That was not my intention. I recognize the hard work these people do, and I have food on my table because of their production.

When that original post was made, it was a dry year. I kept running into dry agricultural land, and there was a major government push to sell off public lands, which drove me over the edge and prompted me to write that post.

Agreed that not just whitetail deer, but other animals like turkeys, doves, and many more also benefit from agriculture, and many of us love to search for them on agricultural edges. The issue is the industrialization and corporatization of farming, alongside negative practices like the heavy use of water soluble industrial chemicals, poor waste management, and the algae blooms that choke out nearby rivers and lakes.

As for how farmers view hunters, I am not entirely sure, as I have never interacted with a farmer or stepped foot on private land while hunting and stay respectful of the surrounding gates, fences, and signs. I'd imagine that in this area, they mainly hunt the land themselves with their family members.