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Extreme drought
By the end of July 2012, about 86 percent of the primary corn and soybean belt experienced moderate to extreme drought, surpassing all previous droughts except those in the 1988 and the 1930's.
The corn on this Iowa farm was harvested weeks ahead of schedule due to extreme heat. The condition of about half of all corn fields in Iowa was listed as poor or very poor, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
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Suburban sprawl
Since 1982, the United States has lost more than 23 million acres of agricultural land to development. Driven by highway construction and suburban sprawl, development increased 57 percent while our population only grew 30 percent. Quality farmland remains a target for development because it tends to be flat, drains well, and is affordable.
Hog farmer Paul Willis, has restored approximately 400 acres of tail grass prairie on his farm in Iowa. This ecosystem of grasses, plants and birds, naturally prevents soil erosion and once covered 140 million acres of North America. Due to development nearly 96 percent of these prairies are now gone.
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Industrialized Farming
Grazing cattle and open hog farms once dominated the landscape in Iowa. Now there are corn and soybean fields peppered with concentrated Animal Feeding Operations where thousands of animals are contained before being shipped to meatpacking plants.
In addition to being associated with a host of environmental and health issues, CAFOs decrease the prices of agricultural goods by operating at a much lower costs than small farms.
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Estate Tax
Estate taxes can cripple small farmers when land passes from one generation to the next. When a family member inherits a large ranch, he or she has to pay the inheritance tax based on the ranch’s value. There are families that have lost land or had to sell land to pay taxes.
Paul Willis, runs a pig farm in north-central Iowa and also a network of more than 400 like-minded farmers as part of Niman Ranch. His family will be impacted by the estate tax when he passes his farm to his daughter Sarah.
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International Imports
U.S. meat imports (including prepared meat) almost doubled between 2007 and 2007 to reach $5.4 billion. Beef and pork are the leading meats consumed in the United States, and represent about 80 percent of all meat imports," according to the USDA.
The image above shows the difference between Niman pork from small family U.S. farms (numbered) and other pork chops sold in conventional stores. Niman pork has more fatty marbling which attributes flavor and is a healthy pink color.
Every week nearly 330 small family farmers leave their land, according to Farm Aid. There are now nearly five million fewer farms in the U.S. than there were in the 1930's and of the two million remaining farms, only 565,000 are family operated. Here's a look at 5 issues impacting American farmers.