Death of a Family Farm?

The Death of A Family Farm?

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright June 2014

In the 1880’s Frank Xavier Von Flue came to America from central Switzerland. As the second born son of a small farm family he had no future in the depressed economy of that time. For thirty years he worked milking cows or as a farm hand in the Sacramento foothills, the Santa Clara Valley and San Luis Obispo area. In 1912 he, his wife, Lulu,  and their four sons were homesteading out between Firebaugh and Los Banos. By 1916 they had settled outside Kerman.

            Their son Wes graduated Kerman High School in 1923, start farming and raising a family with his wife Helen. Wes rotated cotton and alfalfa for hay. He also trucked hay all over the area.

            Wes and Helen’s sons, Walt and Ralph started farming together in the early 1970’s. Some of their grandchildren continue to farm. I married into the family and started farming in 1981. But, in 2020 the string may be broken. Not by global competition, bad weather or bad management, but by bad government regulation. Cutting off water, raising the cost of doing business and the final straw will be the requirement to buy all new tractors for the farm by 2020. That will be a capital cost that is un-survivable.

The first irony is the government will do what Nature couldn’t and kill off a family farm that has lasted generations. The next irony is the land will probably still be farmed. Now it will be farmed by a large operation. So, while we say we want to protect small farmers, our policies are driving small farmers out. And finally, who benefits economically? Tractor manufacturers in other states and other countries will reap billions of dollars from our economy. So, once again, in the name of the environment we will further impoverish an already poor region.

Farmers are the original recyclers. We reduce, recycle and reuse everything we can. We have to. The margins in farming are often very thin. I have tractors that are forty years old. Replacing my older equipment with new tractors and harvesters will cost around a million dollars. We have a small operation. Our annual gross income is around a million dollars a year. What business can survive a capital replacement like that? How would non-farm families react if they were told they had to make a purchase equal to their annual income?

We have survived bugs, weeds, drought and flood over the decades. I cannot see how we survive this one.

Air advocates have a program where the Air District covers a portion of the capital cost of new tractors. It maxes out at about 35% of the capital cost. That still doesn’t answer the question- why am I being forced to replace equipment that gets that is already working? I have equipment that works and is already paid for.

If you answer air quality, that opens a few other questions.

First, when are we going to admit that air quality is getting better in the Valley? We have more people driving more miles every year and the air is measurably better. But, you would know that from the news.

Second, the common number is that cars and trucks create something on the order of 70% of the air pollution. If that is true, why are we balancing the equation on the backs of the farmers?

 For the record, I have started converting our tractors. We bought a small orchard tractor last winter through the Air District program. But, I don’t see how I can replace every thing by 2020 and survive. Some day I would like to be out of debt. I hear that is nice.

I am not asking for permission to pollute.  Our equipment is well maintained and cared for. Remember, we make our living with these tractors.

There is a very simple solution to the tractor problem. Just grandfather in all the old tractors. I get it. We all want clean air. But, they don’t make you sell your old car do they? No, they just crank up the requirements on new cars. As we buy new cars the older cars are taken out of the fleet and the air gets progressively cleaner. Why not do the same with our tractors?