Celeste Bauer

English 2010
Carolyn Holloway
March 17, 2014
The Demise of the American Farmer: Fact or Fiction
Have you ever wondered what its like to be a member of a threatened species? Well let
me introduce you someone who is. John Randall has
worked on his own family farm in Idaho for the past
twenty two years. John was raised on a farm learning to
work daily from dawn to dusk. John speaking of the
dairy farmers stated Their day usually starts at dawn and
doesn't end until after dark. When John was young his
parents owned a dairy farm, as he grew up he realized that farming was not going to be enough
to raise a family on, so he went to school being the first from his family to graduate from college.
John did not carry on the family tradition of managing a dairy farm, instead he left that to his dad
and decided that instead he would start his own crop farm. John works a typical 8-5 full time job
at a home mortgage office, while tending to his farm in the early mornings and evenings.
John is lucky to have his wife and kids to help with the family farm while he is gone working
long hours. Initially John was very surprised that someone would want to interview him about
his family farm business, but as we talked and I was explaining what I was writing about he
happily agreed and was willing to help me with whatever he could. John and I conversed over
the phone to do the interview.

John talked to me about what it was like growing up on a dairy farm, waking up before
dawn and working hard all day til after dusk. John was appreciative of the work ethic and
mindset that growing up on a farm gave him, he knew he
wanted to raise his own family with the same traits of hard
work and dedication. John went to college for two years
after graduating from high school. He quit school when he
met his wife and decided to get married and start his
family. At that time they bought their home and land to
start a farm. John remembers all the work, time and effort he put in to get the land ready and
seeded. John knew that his 4 acre farm wasnt going to be profitable enough to raise his family
so he quickly looked for a job and moved around a lot until he finally landed his job working at a
mortgage company. John and his wife, knowing that farming wasnt going to give them much of
an income, decided right at the beginning that they wanted to farm what they would use and need
to be self sustaining, anything extra would be used to help neighbors and others in need.
Johns family occasionally hires outside help during the harvest times. He usually hires
help from locals that are out of work or are in need of food. He says hes often times hired his
childrens friends to come work for them on the farm. John is a very strong believer in education
and thinks that everyone can benefit by going to school, he only allows youth to work for him if
they are attending and doing well in school. When
talking with John, I asked him what made him decide
not to follow in his fathers footsteps and own a dairy
farm, he said he knew it wouldnt bring in enough
income to raise a family. He said that dairy farming


takes more time and you have to be available all day every day for milking, feeding and taking
care of the cattle. John said from early on he knew that owning a small family crop farm would
be most beneficial because it does take time and commitment and dedication to get a good
crop, but it isnt an all day every day job.
When it comes to a small family farm verses the corporate Genetically Engineered farms,
John didnt have much to say. I asked, Given my brief research on this subject, studies show
that the American family farmer is in decline and is becoming an endangered species. Would
you agree with that? (Gutierrez) John explained that he isnt really familiar with the statistics,
but he does agree. Over the years, when he was younger people were able to farm for a living,
but he doesnt feel like the dairy farm would be enough to raise a family, he believes that it is
also true for crop farming. John says that it compares to and relates the same to many different
companies and different lines of work. He says that bigger and more profitable companies
always take precedence, they have the means to hire more help or purchase newer and better
machinery make work lighter and faster. John told me that there was one year that they didnt
get much produce, for whatever reason that year they didnt even get enough for their family
alone. He said that it was a tough year for his family and other surrounding families that depend
on his farm for the majority of their produce. He said with a joking voice, but, maybe if Id
planted and was growing genetically engineered crops, maybe they would have survived the
heat, lack of water (due to drought) and insects that year.
I asked, What can the average American do to support the American farmer? His
response was something that I wasnt expecting. John has a very strong belief that we can help
the American family farmer by buying our produce at local farmers markets. He also said that at
times farmers, like him, sometimes post in newspapers or online when the harvest time is and
they allow people to come and pick their own produce for purchase. There are also local co-ops,
Some Salt Lake valley shoppers say buying food at co-ops helps them save money and help
others. (Stephenson)

To let John get back to work and his family, I wrapped up the interview, I asked, Are
young people going into farming now? Or why would a young person want to pursue farming
as an occupation and a way of life? John responded with an answer that didnt surprise me.
No, I dont see young people getting into farming as an occupation. I dont know if it is
because farming is hard work and now a days young people dont arent being taught the worth
of hard work. He continued a little bit and then said, There isnt any money in farming, so you
have to really love it. Despite the huge numbers of enthusiastic young people here, the average
age of a farmer is 58. (Burton) We need to get young people excited about farming, the future
of agriculture depends on attracting young talent by making them realize what a modern,
challenging career it is. (Furdson)
After the interview, I was surprised to hear what a small family farmer knows and doesnt
know, or care about the competition. I believe that if John was farming as an actual occupation
to provide for his family he would have known more statistics and he would have more of a say
and lean towards pro GE crop farming or against it. I believe that he would also care more about
it if he was trying to make a profit out of farming. John was a very nice guy, a family man. John
had many different stories about farming. He was very easy to talk to and helped me understand
a different side of farming, not as an occupation but more of a hobby and to become self
sustaining.
Works Cited
Burton, Lucy. Farming Industry Targets the Next Generation. BBC News. 2012. Web. 26
April 2014
Furdson, David. We Need to Get Young People Excited about Farming. The Guardian.
2013.Web. 26 April 2014
Gutierrez, D.M. Information About Dairy Farmers. eHow, 1999-2014. Web. 15 March 2014
Stephenson, Kathy. Eat Healthy, Save Money at a Food Co-op. The Salt Lake Tribune. 2012.
Web. 26 April 2014