Farmers and Rural Communities Depend on Each Other
by: Chris Chinn, a hog producer in Clarence, Mo., who is chair of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmer and Rancher Committee.
Abraham Lincoln once said that no other human occupation opens so wide a field for the profitable than does agriculture. That sentiment still rings true nearly 150 years later. Agriculture remains a significant driving force behind economic development.
In many states, local governments are trying to excessively regulate agriculture. They are doing this through county health ordinances targeting livestock operations. This hurts all families who farm, not just those raising livestock, and it cuts deeply into the economic health and development of rural America.
In my home state of Missouri, counties with health ordinances on livestock cannot receive assistance from the state to start up new ethanol or biodiesel plants. State officials believe it is simply not feasible to invest millions of dollars in renewable fuels in counties that restrict the growth of livestock.
Ethanol and biodiesel plants should be considered attractive in counties that produce livestock because renewable fuel co-products can be sold as feed. Sadly, because of these inane ordinances, many states are losing out on generating much-needed revenue for rural areas.
Local regulations don’t just hinder the agriculture industry. Implementing local ordinances that restrict agricultural growth also restricts county revenue.
A new biodiesel plant in northeast Missouri is expected to generate more than $200,000 in new county tax revenue. A county that writes off livestock agriculture will forgo that type of economic growth. While $200,000 may not seem like a lot of money to some people, for a rural area it could mean additional school textbooks or local road improvements. New tax dollars help build and maintain rural infrastructure, as well as generating new funds for local schools and hospitals.
Rural communities must grow appropriately. For instance, it is simply not practical to bring a shopping mall to an area with a population of 1,500. If a developer’s goal is to build a shopping mall, the first thing the town needs is an increase in the population through the creation of jobs that will bring people to the area.
In rural communities, the quickest way to create new jobs is to expand existing businesses in the area. And in many cases, the existing businesses are family farms. When family farms grow, they employ more people, which leads to more dollars entering the local community. When businesses are able to expand and create new jobs, a need arises for additional healthcare, education, technology and transportation. And with this comes even more new jobs, and the cycle begins again.
Rural development deserves attention not only from elected officials but from residents of rural areas. Even more important is the need for agriculture to be recognized as an important economic development engine to drive the vitality of rural communities.
Everyone needs food to survive. Unless American agricultural producers have the ability and freedom to produce that food in our rural areas, our nation could become dependent on other countries with questionable food safety records to feed our families. As a mother, that prospect makes me very uncomfortable.
Abe Lincoln had it right all those years ago. Agriculture is the means to providing healthy, economically thriving communities, which in turn contributes to a stronger, safer nation.
9/17/07
