Your Diocese

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Mike Johanns, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Secretary, spoke in mid-July in Dakar, Senegal, before the 4th African Growth Opportunity Act Forum, to discuss competitive commodity prices on a global scale; meanwhile, Midwest farm families are seeking resolution to issues that impact the livelihoods of rural Americans. Small-scale farming operators continue to appeal to federal, state and local officials for policies that support family-run agribusiness on issues ranging from equitable subsidies to conservation efforts and from crop diversification to environmental impact policies.

While the current drought dominates discussions among farmers in Illinois, experts in agribusiness are more concerned with the overall fate of the industry. The viability of commodity farming, particularly corn and soybeans in Illinois, is questionable for small-scale operators who can’t compete with trans-national agribusiness giants, such as ADM and Cargil, when it comes to competitive pricing. In spite of the corporations’ jumbo share of the market, corporate granaries have further expanded profit margins by engaging in the processing and packaging of grains accepted at their rural silos.

Meanwhile, government subsidies that artificially bolster the price of corn and soybeans in the global market are doled out to commodity producers using the same formula to satisfy family farmers as well as factory farms. Robert Gronski, policy coordinator for the National Catholic Rural Life Center, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, said he believes Catholic ethics require the faithful to consider the ramifications of subsidized crops on Third World nations. On the African continent, where the economy denies governments any opportunity to lend assistance, the farmers are at the mercy of a fluctuating global marketplace.

In a July 18 press release aimed at supporting the equalization of the international commodities and fair trade markets, Johanns said it requires a commitment to initiate favorable conditions for effective agricultural exportation. “We in the United States are prepared to eliminate agricultural subsidies and have challenged the rest of the world to say that they are ready to do the same.”

Charles Hartke, director of the Illinois Dept. of Agriculture, said Johanns’ statement was intended to address equity across the board. The problem with the elimination of subsidies for American crops is more complicated that simply maintaining profits, he said in a July 22 telephone interview with Your Diocese. From a global perspective, the larger food-producing countries vary not only in policy, but also in the rate of tariffs applied to imported goods. U.S. farmers routinely pay higher tariffs to export their goods overseas, he said. Meanwhile, U.S. farmers are forced to comply with any variety of U.S. patent agreements. For instance, Illinois soybean growers using the Monsanto Corp.-produced herbicide pay a technology fee plus they are prohibited under a patent agreement from planting seeds produced from the crop. On the other hand, farmers in Brazil who apply the same herbicide don’t feel obligated to recognize the corporation’s patent prohibitions, and gain free seeds for the next year’s crop, said Hartke. On the other side of the ocean, farmers within the European Union receive substantially higher subsidies than Americans to maintain a profitable margin for commodity crops, he added.

“If all the rules applied equally (around the globe), then eliminating subsidies would be fair,” Hartke said.

Gronski responded that the NCRLC is “careful” about its position on subsidies. Small farmers with less than 40 acres “need support because they can’t get a good price” for corn, soybeans, wheat or cotton. If farmers in the heartland are subject to rainless seasons like the one experienced by most of Illinois’ farmers this year, in which drought conditions have dried up crops and stymied the natural growing process, rural operators have the option to rely on alternative crops, including a variety of produce crops along with pumpkins, flowers or honey, he said. Organic farming is another option, but it requires certification, acquired most often through the U.S.D.A. The primary hardship placed on organic-committed farmers is the risk of a reduced harvest. They can’t apply fertilizer or pesticides to prevent crop-killing insects or disease.

Although the majority of farmers in Illinois prefers to specialize in corn and soybean crops in part because they are accustomed to it but also because the process has become so refined that it yields the most profit with the least amount of labor and overhead costs, said Emerson Nafziger of the University of Illinois Extension Office in Champaign.

In an effort to remain competitive within the global community, university researchers, rural life advocates and state policymakers stand behind sustainable independent agricultural systems, an effort launched in Illinois 15 years ago. Hartke said the concept of sustainable agricultural systems is a broad-sweeping approach that affects small and large farms; the element that makes it distinctive is an attitude that fosters respect for the environment.

The NCRLC takes the initiative even further, promoting integrity of God’s creation, on the one hand, and simultaneously cultivating a Catholic rural ethic that demonstrates support for the common good of the community. While the aspects of the rural ethic are multifaceted in nature, farm communities hope to plant the seeds of loyalty among consumers from the immediate region as well as from urban centers. At the heart of the matter is educating consumers separated by distance and culture about the plight of the American farmer, and then communicating the ethic of supporting particularly the small farmers struggling to make ends meet by patronizing farmers’ markets and roadside vegetable stands, said Gronski.

From a Catholic point of view, the concept of sustainable agricultural systems integrates the aspects of conservation along with a preferential option for the poor farmer. It emphasizes the church’s position on demonstrating respect for the environment. Tim Kautza, science and environmental specialist with the NCRLC, explained that the reference to sustainable systems includes a promise by farmers to provide safe nutritious food to consumers by relying minimally on fertilizers and other chemicals. At the same time, NCRLC advocates for an ecologically balanced system of farm waste disposal. From the Catholic point of view, a rural ethic considers the environmental impact of chemicals on the water, land and air, while simultaneously accepting a role as a “responsible steward” of creation.

Buying fresh produce from roadside farm stands or farmers markets throughout the state is one of the first steps in building a relationship that fosters respect between the grower and consumer, said Gronski. “We want more targeted support for small farmers,” who frequently get the short end of the stick when facing off against corporate farming operations. Because Gronski said he sees the current system of subsidies for commodity farmers as having been “corrupted” by those who would take advantage of any “loophole” or use an unethical but legal measure to increase profits, the sustainable approach has become a lifeline for some.

Diversifying from a near entrenched system of commodity farming creates a hardship for some, but Gronski said he has witnessed the benefits of a holistic approach to the agriculture industry. Admittedly, it takes some adjustments to gamble the farm for the sake of growing vegetables or specialty products, he said.

“It’s better if most farmers live on the land they farm. The corporation doesn’t see what’s going on in the community. We want more lifestyle farmers feeding the local community and providing the surplus to the global market,” Gronski added.

Sustainable approaches within the rural community reflect ethical considerations put forth in a 1999 statement entitled, “Renewing the Earth” by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It compels the faithful to consider their responsibility to cooperate in appropriate land management, such as taking marginal fields out of production and more, said Kautza.

Alternative crop production has been slow to attract farmers willing to shift gears. From row crop farming of corn and soybeans to planting acres of tomatoes, eggplant, green peppers and zucchini and the like, less than 5 percent of Illinois farmers dared for the first time in decades to venture into direct consumer crop production, said Dan Anderson, U of I coordinator of agri-ecologies and sustainable agricultural products in Champaign.

“The demand is so high in Chicago for organic an sustainable produce,” Anderson said he “sees a huge potential for profit.” The problem is that most farmers in Illinois lack the infrastructure for vegetable and niche crops, such as pumpkins and squash. They have access to conventional equipment for harvesting row crops, but “it takes a completely different outlook on farming to produce vegetables.”

Merrill Marxman, retired agriculture advisor for the USDA office in Bourbonnais, who currently serves as coordinator of the Kankakee County Farmers Market, said diversified farming, primarily vegetables and fruits, “anything that’s not tropical,” can thrive in Illinois’ rich soil. However, specialty crops are “labor intensive,” he said. By the time a crop reaches the roadside vegetable stand, the farmer has spent a whole day harvesting and hours coordinating business opportunities. In Kankakee, the twice-weekly farmers market routinely draws the same 35 farmers from the immediate vicinity and a few travel from out-of-state to market their goods in town, he said. In the past seven years since Marxman initiated the Kankakee County program, Kankakee County tallies a mere 5,000 acres set aside for specialty crops.

Breanna Glasscock, whose family farms just over 46 acres in Elwood, observes sustainable farming practices in an effort to produce and market 11 acres of vegetables and fruit in the summer and 35 acres of pumpkins and squash in the fall. Withstanding the blazing sun and 100-degree temperatures July 24, Glasscock and a team of four employees manned their farm stand set up every Sunday in the summer and fall along U.S. Route 30 in New Lenox. While bagging and bundling vegetables for sale, 22-year-old Glasscock revealed that it’s part of her responsibility to the family business to operate the farm stand, which she relocates every day to take advantage of farmers markets in the vicinity. She sets up shop seven days a week—in Plainfield, along Illinois Route 53 in Frankfort, Joliet, Lockport and New Lenox. “It’s a way of life,” she said. Although the quality of the crops has not been as good this year, she said, the family has managed to continue production as usual. Citing the record drought this year, she added, the irrigation system was a worthy investment.