By Rae Schnapp, Wabash Riverkeeper, and Tom Healy.
Schnapp
holds a Ph.D. from Purdue School of Agriculture.
The Wabash River
has the longest undammed stretch of river east of the Mississippi, draining
some 24,000 square miles of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. This region is well
known for its agricultural productivity. Yet family farms have been declining
steadily over the past few decades as the “get big or get out” mentality
became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Farmers who follow this advice take on huge debt to buy big equipment
and get more land. Meanwhile, overproduction drives prices down making
it difficult to repay loans. But many Indiana farmers are challenging
the conventional wisdom that increased production is the best way to
increase profits. Their approach to agriculture is based on traditional
farming values, a deeper understanding of farm economics and innovation.
And a healthy Wabash River is just one of the many benefits of their
labor.
The upper half of the river basin was originally a mixture of oak-hickory
forests interspersed with tall grass prairies. Native peoples often settled
near the prairie-forest margin because that environment offered well-timbered
tracts for wood, food and forage, as well as easily cleared and tillable
prairie soils. Native Americans relied heavily on maize, beans and squash.
These, with mussels, deer and the now extinct wood buffalo, provided
an abundant and varied food supply. Permanent settlements were established
with populations well over a thousand people.
Euro-American settlers began to drain, clear and plow the prairies and
woodlands in the early 19th century for agriculture. Today, much of the
watershed is dedicated to row crops or pasture. Remnants of prairie are
found only in a few cemeteries. What remains of the forested areas are
on the steepest slopes, poorest soils or in floodplains too low and wet
for cultivation.
Forest and prairie retain rainwater over a much longer period than cropland,
meaning a steadier supply of water for the river. In 1841, renowned artist
George Winter, who lived and painted in Logansport wrote, “The
river is a clear and rushing stream, dotted by small islands which threw
their images upon the glassy surface.” A few years later, in 1845,
Winter wrote that the clearing of the forests had a striking effect on
the Wabash – “the beautiful islands… are beginning
to wash away under the influence of the greater volume of water that
fills the banks and increased current of the river.”
Early residents of the Wabash River valley shipped their timber, corn,
wheat, pork, sugar beets, potatoes and flax to New Orleans via flatboats
during the spring floods. Another important product of the area was mussels
(freshwater clams), gathered in huge quantities to manufacture buttons.
By 1908, the Midwest was also producing a half a million dollars worth
of freshwater pearls a year. But over-harvesting and waste from growing
industrial centers depleted shellfish populations.
In 1828, construction began on a series of canals to link the Wabash
to Lake Erie so that goods could be shipped to markets in the east. At
468 miles from Toledo, OH, to Evansville, IN, it was the largest man-made
structure in the United States. Canal usage reached its peak in 1850,
but the tolls were inadequate to keep it in good repair. In 1854 spring
floods damaged the aqueduct and repairs were not justified because 1,300
miles of railroad had already being completed.
While the canal era was short-lived, it had a huge impact on the river.
The canals encouraged draining of land that had previously been too wet
to cultivate. Nowadays, nearly all of the wetlands in the upper watershed
have been drained with agricultural field tiles, buried pipes designed
to carry rainwater away and drain fields as quickly as possible in spring.
This has created unpredictable flood conditions that make farming precarious
in the lower Wabash valley.
Farmers continue to install drainage pipes under farm fields. Antiquated
drainage laws treat water as the “common enemy” and upstream
communities have far more rights than the downstream communities that
experience increased flooding. The entire Wabash watershed is dominated
by production of corn and soybean. The cultivation of these annual row
crops releases nutrients and silt into the river. And the abundance of
grain makes the area attractive for animal factories known as concentrated
animal feeding operations.
Unsustainable agriculture
practices are the major challenge to water quality on the Wabash. Fortunately,
an alternative, parallel food system is emerging in the Wabash watershed.
Levi Fisher is a farmer who sells his produce at farmers’ markets
and serves four Community Supported Agriculture contracts. CSA members
subscribe for shares of his harvest, sharing the risk as well as the
abundance. “The CSA gives us a more dependable market,” sayw
Levi. “It helps us estimate how much we should plant. Also there
is less waste and spoilage because each day’s harvest is delivered
right away.” Levi does some direct marketing of pasture pork
and chickens. He also hosts field days so his customers can get
a first-hand look at his operation. He uses this opportunity to
explain that soil and water management are important aspects of
his business.
Subscribers say they like the freshness and quality, the personal relationship
with the grower, the transparency of the production system and the
sense of community with like-minded consumers. They also like the specialty
items that Levi grows for them, including raspberries and heirloom
tomato varieties.
“Animals need fresh air and exercise just as humans do,” says Lisa
Stickdorn, who raises beef on pasture. “It is very difficult to find information
about how to improve the profitability of a small scale farming operation. All
the literature provided by extension agents and USDA is geared toward larger
operations. We have learned that the key to increasing profitability is to lower
our overhead costs, doing things by hand instead of investing in equipment. We
also market directly to discriminating consumers who are willing to pay a bit
more for quality and want to support local farmers so corporations don’t
completely control our food supply.”
Lisa’s partner Eric Stickdorn adds, “The so-called ‘economies
of scale’ are really based on subsidized grain prices. A bushel of
corn sells for less than its production costs. The only reason farmers
keep growing corn is because of the price supports. And the low cost of
grain is the thing that makes industrial scale confinement operations profitable.
Sustainable agriculture and corporate agriculture are not compatible because
of health effects associated with living near large confinement operations.
We suffer from the sewage fumes when we are out there working in the field;
our animals suffer too.”
Allen and Judy Hutchison raise and train draft horses. They support a network
of farmers that use horse-drawn equipment to plow and pull farm equipment.
With a large dairy next door, they have serious concerns about corporate domination
of agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is based on increasing the self-reliance
of small farmers and reducing inputs from off the farm such as grain that is
harvested elsewhere and fuels.
Dairy owners Dave and Helen Forgey farm on the banks of the Wabash near
Logansport, IN. Their farm has fragile sandy soils but they grow great
forages. Dave says, “The
real secret to successful farming is not to produce more, but to increase
the margin of difference between the price and what it costs you to produce
it. I do this by having the cows harvest their own feed from April through
November. This gives the cows plenty of exercise so they are healthy and
deliver calves with no assistance. It reduces my expenses for feed, transportation,
equipment, labor and vet bills! I use free inputs like rainwater and sunshine
to grow my feed and I utilize every bit of grass.”
“We
milk 200 cows. They don’t produce as much per cow as large confinement
operations, but we are able to produce each gallon of milk at a lower
cost than those who must either harvest or purchase every pound of grain
a cow eats, and then store and deliver feed to the cow on a daily basis.” But
this is not his grandfather’s farm, sustainable does not mean low-tech.
To save labor, the Forgeys use radio-transmitting devices to let them
know when their cows are in heat. This makes breeding more efficient
and ensures that all calves are born within a few weeks of each other
so that they are managed more easily.
“Many
farmers are expanding because they need to earn more income,” Dave
explains. “My father installed a confinement system in the
1970s. We did everything Purdue told us to do, but got deeper and
deeper in debt. Now we have abandoned that! A grass-based system
is a great way for those entering farming because of the reduced
overhead costs. I travel the country telling farmers that there is
a lower cost way to produce food but the many farmers still fear
that they cannot be profitable unless they produce all they can.”
Another
way is to increase profitability is to market a premium product that can
command a higher price from discriminating consumers. Trader’s Point
Creamery is a grass-fed organic dairy that sells premium quality
dairy products. On the outskirts of Indianapolis, they market milk
and yogurt drinks in glass bottles, as well as ice cream and cheeses,
directly from their huge barn-turned-dairy bar. David Robb of the Creamery
says, “The market for organic products
is growing 20 percent each year but the support offered by government
funded programs is pitiful.” In order to provide their customers
a broader selection of natural and organic foods, the Creamery hosts
a farmers’ market
in their dairy bar each Saturday. Customers can buy in-season locally
grown vegetables, greens, mushrooms, pasture pork and chicken,
as well as their dairy products.
The farmers’ market, says Robb, “is a great way to educate consumers.
Chefs demonstrate seasonal food preparation. Customers can meet producers and
ask questions. It inspires confidence in the food system.” Other
premium markets include restaurants and caterers. Lali Hess, caterer
from Crawfordsville uses locally grown organic food whenever she
can. She caters many local functions from the kitchen space she
rents at the local 4-H County Fairgrounds.
Steve Bonney, president of the nonprofit group Sustainable Earth,
organizes the Midwest Small Farm Conference each year so farmers
can network and learn from each other. “A centralized food supply controlled by a few corporations
is every bit as much a national security threat as our reliance on foreign oil,” says
Bonney. “The key to change is to eliminate agricultural subsidies
that amount to a kind of corporate welfare system, making the whole
system unresponsive to consumer preferences and market forces.
Consumers are beginning to realize that eating is not just a matter
of conscience, but a political act.”
Consumers and farmers alike are beginning to realize that they
have choices. Small farms are sometimes disparaged as “hobby farms” serving
niche markets, but these niches represent consumer values that
are emerging as real market forces that can ultimately tip the balance
toward a more sustainable food production system.
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