Appreciating local agriculture during Thank a Farmer Week

The Cape Girardeau County Farm Bureau, with approximately 2,000 members, has been spotlighting the American farmer each day on its Facebook page during Thank a Farmer Week, which began Sunday.

Laura Nothdurft, CGCFB president since August, believes farmers are incredibly productive.

"Farm and ranch families account for less than 2% of the U.S. population, yet the average farm produces enough food and fiber to feed 166 people (annually)," said Nothdurft, who along with her husband, Jeremy, raises corn, soybeans and wheat on a 1,200-acre spread west of Gordonville.

Citing a report commissioned by former Missouri Department of Agriculture director Richard Fordyce, Nothdurft suggested farmers are incredibly important to the economic health of the state.

"Agriculture in Missouri is an $88.4 billion industry employing roughly 400,000 people," Nothdurft said, adding 96% of the state's farms are just like hers -- family-owned.

The Missouri Farm Bureau has been asking state residents to "thank a farmer" for the last 11 years as a way of spotlighting agriculture and showing gratitude for the state's farmers and ranchers.

Risky business

"Farmers (deal) with hot summers, cold winters and stressful and long days to ensure we all have the products we use every day," said Jennifer Poindexter, MFB director of promotion and education.

Nothdurft concurs and agrees the risk factor is high in both dairy and crop farming.

"Often it seems the conditions are never just right -- it's either too hot or too cold, it's too dry or too wet, so we're always looking for new methods or technologies to overcome what we can't control," she said, noting, for one example, the development of more drought-resistant seeds.

Not only is the weather a challenge, often so is the marketplace, Nothdurft said.

"Markets are unpredictable and inconsistent a lot of times and the margin for farmers is often not real high (and) some random event can happen in China and can totally skew the market for a product," she said, adding trade agreements are sometimes made with farmers not provided a lot of input.

Nothdurft said insurance can be purchased for some commodities but not all.

"There are not a lot of full-time farmers anymore because that paycheck is not always reliable," she said.

MFB's Poindexter said a great deal of land remains devoted to agriculture in Missouri.

"Farms cover more than 27 million acres in Missouri, well over half the state," she said.

Optimism

"We're starting to see people who have a love of farming find other ways to make money in agriculture," Nothdurft said, noting value-added products such making available a higher quality of beef and agritourism such as farmers' markets and pumpkin patches are among the many ways to cater to customer wants.

"We are at the mercy of the elements and a whole lot of things are beyond a farmer's influence," Nothdurft opined.

"I tell my husband that farming is God's way of reminding us we are not in control," she said.

"Because 98% of the population doesn't farm, it is easy to take for granted the importance of farmers," said Matt Schlueter, Atchison County Farm Bureau president.

Thank a Farmer Week for 2021 ends Saturday.