Farmers in Clark, Floyd counties finding it harder than ever to make a profit on the farm

By CHRIS MORRIS
Chris.Morris@newsandtribune.com

June 10, 2007 08:00 am

— Farmers admit technology has made the physical part of their job easier. Society, however, has not.
From maneuvering large farming equipment on country roads, which were not designed for the traffic volume of 2007, to watching developments build around them and taxes rise yearly, stress, they admit, is a way of life.
“The traffic on the narrow roads pop over the hills, and around turns, going so fast that any farm equipment being moved doesn’t have a chance,” farmer Joe Schilmiller said.
Don’t forget the obstacles Mother Nature throws at them.
So, why do they farm? Why do they still get up before sunrise and retire well past sunset.
“It’s in our blood,” said Guy Heitkemper, who farms and leases 750 acres near the Floyd-Harrison County line. “It’s all we know. I guess I like the challenge.”
There are many challenges.
Farmers have watched neighbors in recent years sell land to developers who have built subdivisions up against their farm land. That, they say, has caused excessive runoff.
Jude Walter, who raises corn, alfalfa and soybeans on 280 acres in Floyd County, has seen a difference in his land and area since West Oakes Subdivision was developed near his property. He said developers have approached him about selling his farm and one already had the land platted into homes.
“I told them not to come back,” he said. “It’s been in my family for 92 years.”
The new Floyd County stormwater fee property and homeowners pay also adds a burden, farmers say. Walter said he recently received an $858 stormwater bill, a new charge to his property taxes. The fee was established by the stormwater board in February thanks to an unfunded federal mandate. The fee is based on impervious areas on property which includes anything with a hard surface — roofs and pavement.
Farmers are eligible for stormwater credits, but many say they are still looking at a hefty bill.
“All this top soil is running into the creeks due to development,” said Scott Foster, who owns and operates Foster’s Produce and farms 50 acres. “I think these developers should have to pay. They are causing a lot of this runoff.”
While they all still enjoy farming, it has become more and more difficult to make a living from it. Many farmers have a second job and depend on a spouse’s income.
“I like it, but not like I used to,” Walter said. “There is too much investment in it for what you get back. I can’t afford the taxes.”
Said Foster: “I have been in dirt all my life. This is all I know.”
But rising costs have made it tougher to stay in the dirt.
Larry Buechler, who sells seed and fertilizer to farmers in both counties, said fertilizer prices have continued to rise. He said rising crude oil prices has caused some of the increase, but several fertilizer companies cut production to force prices to rise. He said some fertilizer has jumped $200, per ton, in price in the past three years.
“We couldn’t get it,” he said. “They created a man-made shortage. Now that the prices are up, you can get all the fertilizer you want.”
Heitkemper said a bag of corn seed has also gone from $60 to $150 in just a short time. That can be blamed on the demand for corn to use in the production of ethanol, Buechler said.
“Farming is a gamble,” Foster said. “I have a business and my wife drives a school bus. The investment goes up every year but I am getting the same price for wholesale produce as I got 15 years ago.”
Heitkemper said Indiana needs to establish a stricter farmland protection policy the way some states have to help farmers deal with rising real estate costs. Oregon has the nation’s strictest farmland protection policy which includes 16 million acres.
“That would give us a way to compete with these guys,” he said. “It all comes down to dollars and cents.”
Attorney John Kraft, who represents several local developers, said it’s hard for farmers to say no to developers with the high cost of land.
“If you get a developer willing to pay high dollar, it’s hard for a farmer to say no,” Kraft said. “They may be on land that has been the family farm and their culture is to be a farmer, but this gives farmers another option.”

CLARK COUNTY BY THE NUMBERS
• Number of farms — 638
• Farms land —100,602 acres
• Average size of farm — 158 acres
• Average value of agricultural products sold per farm: $34,481
• Average value of crops sold per acre for harvested cropland: $277.47
• Average total farm production expenses per farm: $27,595
• Harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 58.15 percent
• Average market value of all machinery and equipment per farm: $61,790
• The percentage of farms operated by a family or individual: 92.32 percent
• Average age of principal farm operators: 56 years
• Average number of cattle and calves per 100 acres of all land in farms: 10.91
• Corn for grain: 13,640 harvested acres
• All wheat for grain: 3,197 harvested acres
• Soybeans for beans: 32,180 harvested acres
• Vegetables: 596 harvested acres
• Land in orchards: 162 acres
City-Data.com

FLOYD COUNTY BY THE NUMBERS
• Number of farms — 299
• Farm land — 24,048 acres
• Average size of farm — 80 acres
• Average value of agricultural products sold per farm: $11,717
• Average value of crops sold per acre for harvested cropland: $213.43
• Average total farm production expenses per farm: $45,892
• Harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 47.22 percent
• Average market value of all machinery and equipment per farm: $61,692
• The percentage of farms operated by a family or individual: 91.64 percent
• Average age of principal farm operators: 60 years
• Average number of cattle and calves per 100 acres of all land in farms: 10.90
• Corn for grain: 2,601 harvested acres
• All wheat for grain: 404 harvested acres
• Soybeans for beans: 4,651 harvested acres
• Vegetables: 175 harvested acres
• Land in orchards: 17 acres
City-Data.com

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.