[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 127 (Wednesday, October 2, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1721-E1722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE STATE OF FAMILY FARMS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID D. PHELPS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 1, 2002

  Mr. PHELPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to state that I am very proud 
to represent the very best of America, the heartland, central and 
southern Illinois, where family farms and other family owned businesses 
do more with less.
  Recently, I was privileged to speak to a group of farmers about the 
new Farm Bill and other agricultural issues such as ethanol, bio-diesel 
and value-added products, which will serve to diversify our economy and 
tax base. I was impressed with the attendance and views of the young 
people, who offered valuable input at the meeting. They are deeply 
concerned with the future, and what it holds for them on the family 
farm.
  I want to commend Shana Renae Stine for presenting a quality 
statement in a speech she created and delivered about changes to save 
family farms. This work is a very impressive collection of thoughts 
that clearly come from her heart. I would like to congratulate her on 
winning awards for this outstanding masterpiece.

               Losing Family Farms—Time for Change

                            (By Shana Stine)

       Two years ago, I had the opportunity to go with my uncle to 
     “Rally for Rural America” in Washington, D.C. We 
     joined 3,000 other family farmers and Rural Americans with 
     the hope to sway our congressperson toward helping 
     agriculture. I really didn't understand why I was there. I 
     just wanted to go sightseeing. As my luck usually goes, it 
     rained the whole time, making sightseeing impossible. 
     Instead, I was stuck listening to politicians and farmers 
     speak about things that were way over my head. At first I 
     hated it; I wished I'd stayed home. But as the day went by, I 
     heard story after story of families losing their farms. I saw 
     grown men cry and my heart went out to them. I may not have 
     understood why I was there, but I understood pain and 
     suffering, and I knew something needed to change.
       America was based on agriculture. The lives of some of the 
     first people here, like Indians and Pilgrims, depended on 
     working the soil. And now we are losing one of our greatest 
     traditions. The U.S. Department of Labor stated, “Of 
     all occupations in America, farming is facing the greatest 
     decline.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently 
     projected net farm income to decline by 20 percent in 2002 
     (about $9 billion) on top of the 25 percent income drop that 
     has occurred since 1996. Another report by the U.S. 
     Department of Labor projected farming and ranching to lose 
     more jobs than any other economic sector in America during 
     the next 10 years. And if that's not bad enough, in November, 
     USDA reported the largest single-month drop in prices since 
     it has been keeping records—over 90 years. Our roots 
     are embedded in agriculture and now they are being turned 
     over and disposed of.
       In 1920, more than 30% of the Illinois population lived on 
     farms. By 1960 the percentage dropped to 7.5. From 1960 to 
     1990, that percentage shrank to 1.6%, and, in the last ten 
     years, it has fallen below 1%. As Illinois loses farmers, so 
     does all of America. On average, 50 American farmers go out 
     of business every day and 16,000 go out of business every 
     year. It has been calculated that 300,000 farmers went out of 
     business between 1979 and 1998. And in the last 10 years, 
     America lost another 155,000 farms. According to the USDA 
     National Agriculture Statistics Service, there are only 1.91 
     million farmers remaining in the U.S. That's the lowest 
     number of farms in the United States since 1850. A major 
     source of pride and income that our country has valued from 
     its infancy is now disappearing in front of our eyes at a 
     remarkable speed.
       One of my favorite songs is American Farmer by Charlie 
     Daniels. My favorite line in the song is “You better 
     wake up America, wake up America, cause if the man don't 
     work, then the people don't eat!” Isn't that the truth? 
     America can't afford to lose 50 farms a day. Farmers generate 
     15% of the Gross Domestic Product and 1 trillion dollars in 
     economic activity each year. The U.S. is the world's largest 
     agriculture exporter.
       So what is causing all of this? One of the biggest factors 
     of the loss of family farms in America is low market prices 
     and high expenses. The market prices now are extremely low. 
     Market prices have dropped every year since the last farm 
     bill was approved. Farmers are getting roughly half of the 
     prices they were receiving in 1996 and it can only get worse 
     without a new farm policy. Currently, these prices are 
     35–50 percent lower than they were 15 years ago. And 
     the price to operate a farm is off the scale. Fertilizer, 
     tractors, combines, machinery—All of these cost more 
     money than ever.
       Another contributor to these problems is corporate farms. 
     They are invading America. Listen to these numbers:
        Two percent of farms produce 50 percent of agricultural 
     product sales.
       Of the remaining hog farms, 2 percent control nearly half 
     of all hog inventory.
       79% of all cattle are controlled by just 4 companies.
       98% of all poultry is produced by huge corporations.
       Four firms control 82 percent of beef packing, 75 percent 
     of hogs and sheep, and half of chickens.
       Corporate farms make up only six percent of farmers, but 
     they take 60 percent of all farm receipts.
       Can't you see it? The numbers are right in front of you. 
     Corporate farms are taking over America.
       Another sometimes overlooked problem is the small number of 
     new farmers. At no other point in the history of U.S. 
     agriculture, have we faced such a wide generational gap in 
     farm participants. Twenty-five percent of all farmers are 65 
     years of age and older. Nearly half of all farmers are over 
     age 55, while just 8 percent are under age 35. No one wants 
     to come back and farm. Do you blame them? The state 
     agriculture is in right now is pathetic. In 1998, farmers 
     earned an average of only $7,000 per year from their farming 
     operations. Most family farmers must work jobs off the farm 
     just to make ends meet. 88 percent of the average farm 
     operator's household income comes from off-the-farm sources, 
     Who wants to come back to the farm when they can work in town 
     for twice the money and half the labor?
       So what can be done? That's what everyone wants to know. A 
     start would be getting the government to stop hurting family 
     farmers and start helping them. We need a farm bill that is 
     good for family farmers. Something far different than the 
     1996 FAIR Act, or Freedom to Farm Act. It was drawn up with 
     the supposed intention of leveling the playing field by 
     removing public regulations and allowing the market to 
     dictate the farm industry. It eliminated commodity price 
     support programs. Prices plunged in 1997 and farmers had no 
     safety net. Congress passed an emergency aid proposal, and 
     since then the government has paid farmers billions of more

[[Page E1722]]

     dollars to make up for low prices. Yeah that's great, but if 
     the prices were better then we wouldn't have to deal with 
     this.
       Now it's time for a new farm bill The House passed their 
     version in October and the Senate passed theirs this month. 
     There are several differences in the two bills. The House 
     bill would spend about $36 billion over five years and the 
     Senate bill would spend $44 billion in five years. The Senate 
     has payment limitations, which would restrict large farms 
     from receiving huge amounts of money from the government, and 
     a ban on meatpackers owning livestock more than two weeks 
     before slaughter. The House bill spends more on a farm safety 
     net than the Senate bill. The House and Senate each have a 
     committee and they are going to come up with a farm bill that 
     everyone can agree with. They plan on meeting and coming up 
     with a bill by Easter, before Congress recesses.
       Something that every citizen can do, and should do, is 
     write his or her congressperson. President Eisenhower once 
     said, “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a 
     pencil, and you're a thousand miles from the 
     cornfield.” Tell your congressperson how much 
     agriculture affects you. Let him or her know that you support 
     the farm bill. Convince him. Sway him. Just let him know you 
     are out here.
       I live on a fifth-generation farm. Farming is all we have. 
     Without it, we have nothing. My grandpa, my uncle and my 
     father—farming is all they know. My brothers want to 
     come back and farm, but will they be able to and will they 
     even want to? Will the market prices be too low and the price 
     to farm too high? Will a corporate farm buy us out? Losing a 
     farm is not like losing a job; it is losing both your 
     livelihood and your home. It's a way of life that is unique 
     and it cannot simply be replaced with something else, because 
     there is nothing else like it.
       Something has to change or we can kiss agriculture goodbye 
     not only on my farm, not only in Illinois, but in America. 
     Something has to be done. It's time for change.

     

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