It was overcast and while not exactly cold, it wasn't exactly warm my entire time in Illinois. Like much of the country, there is a great deal of concern about where the country is going economically. The housing market is in the tank, and even farms are being effected badly. If you don't know, many farmers run their businesses off big seed loans (literally) from banks. The bank loans the farmer enough money to plant a crop, and the farmer harvests the crop and pays the bank back with interest. Since the banking crisis, the money is in short supply, and banks are worried that the Federal Government (which has been in the business of subsidizing crop insurance to farmers since the Great Depression) will not be in that business much longer.
The people I spoke to in various places, however, seemed to be optomistic. "We've been through this before and survived. We'll do it again," was the response from the old woman at the airport curb when I asked her how things were in Illinois. She took a long drag on her cigarette and added with a phlegmy laugh: "they've been telling me that cigarettes were going to kill me for a long time now, and that hasn't happened yet either."
Yes, things are bad and people need understanding and help but maybe this is an opportunity to rethink the way some things have been done. Perhaps we have enough high fructose corn syrup. Perhaps it's time to plant something else.
ReplyDeletethis is an AWESOME post. (Especially the lady at the end...) I've been thinking about the farmers a lot. I mean, if my little deck flowers took such a beating, what's happening to all the crops with this weather? (not to mention the bank fiasco...) But maybe we can just keep taking a drag on this global cigarette and see what happens...
ReplyDeleteanother great reason to join a csa--let the community who eats the food be the "bank" that supplies the up-front funding, and knowingly share the risk with the farmer.
ReplyDeleteI agree lis, and Cordelia. Time will tell what crops the midwest will produce in the long run. Corn was always a good crop for them, given their climate. Corn can be used for things other than ethanol and syrup too. Seems sad that it has been reduced to those two, animal feed, and, ahem, corn chips.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for catching the irony, Kendrakoo. I didn't want to editorialize too much on her comment. I think I am going to steal your line, however. It is a good one.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of joining a csa, there's one here that's year round and one can go in for different quarters. I travel too much during the middle of summer to do it now.
ReplyDeleteOi! Such is the business of farming I guess. Or anything that depends on the earth and the elements for that matter. Hopefully it will all turn out ok!
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