Where the rubber meets rural roads, reinvestment is needed

As Americans we usually think of oil, land, grains and manufactured goods as pillars of wealth in our economy, but what are all these goods worth with no way to transport them?

The quality of our infrastructure in the United States is one of the best in the world. Oftentimes we take for granted the blessing that comes easy as we travel to work, school or play. In fact, we are an economic world power because of our ability to travel and transport by rail, water and interstate highways. As Americans we pay taxes to create new roads and expansions of four lane highways around the nation. It is our social responsibility to pay these taxes and reinvest in our nation by creating a better future through transportation.

As individuals, we realize this responsibility for our own personal and family welfare in the communities we live. We have done a great job of maintaining and engineering interstate highways so smooth they create a feeling of riding on air and bridges that are so beautiful they have become tourist attractions.

What about the roads less traveled?

Many of the roads that are used for agricultural transport in rural areas have a hard time handling the size of modern equipment in the United States. Even the visionary county engineers who built these roads and bridges in the 1930's couldn't have planned for such monstrous masses of steel. We have seen a transformation in agriculture no one could have expected when the county engineers built many of these roads.

These engineers couldn't have dreamed of semis loaded with gross weights of grain or livestock weighing in over 90,000 pounds. Initially, the paths for our roads were strictly used for horse and buggy transport. We then transitioned to small tractors and wagons which began to put stress on the gravel and dirt roads, but nothing compared to what we experience today.

When you look around the U.S. you are hard pressed to find soil that doesn't grow grains or provide pasture for cattle. In fact, we have some of the most productive soils in the world within our nation. It is imperative we keep our position of leadership in producing food for the world by reinvesting in our rural infrastructure to ensure the travel and transport of our livestock and cereal grains will forever be adequate. If we don’t have the infrastructure to transport these commodities the soil that produces such high yields, we lose all value in them.

As we look ahead this is only going to become more of an issue for us as taxpayers. We must continue to plan for larger equipment and higher yields. As farmers, we are investing in technology that is allowing us to attain higher yields through more intensely managed agronomic practices. This will continue to create more grain putting increased pressure on our roads.

There is also an underlying importance maintaining these rural roads as we attract stakeholders that may invest in Iowa businesses. We need economic development in our rural Iowa areas, and if we do not have adequate roads for employees travel to work we will lose out on business and development across the state. Even so, we must be careful of higher taxes to create these roads that will inhibit entrepreneurs from taking chances and building new businesses which employ our rural Iowans.

Moving forward it is imperative we reinvest through an increased gas tax. This will mean the people who are using our roads across the state will be paying for them through the tax. We have not had an increase in the tax since 1989. If our legislators are able to work together to increase the gas tax while reducing property and income taxes, we certainly see a solution in improved transportation across the state. It is projected we will see a $215 million shortfall in the funding needed for our roads over the past 8 years. This means the deficit must be paid for from other budgets, such as education. The gas tax needs to be supported by both the Iowa house and Senate in 2014 to ensure that critical road repairs are met. 

Opponents of the gas tax simply state Iowans don’t need more taxation. An increase in the gas tax comes at one of the toughest times for Iowans as we stretch our dollars every day to pay for daily necessities such as gas.

Even so, this gas tax increase has the potential to bring employers flocking into Iowa attracting new business with our world class rural and urban infrastructure.

In summary, if you haven’t experienced rural Iowa travel on a gravel road in need of maintenance, I encourage you to drive down gravel roads this Spring as the annual winter thaw begins, or in late fall, after semis have traveled our roads with grain for several months.  You will experience a ride like no other bouncing around on a washboard while dodging potholes as if they are preparing to eat your tires for lunch.

The Importance of Water Security

Seven days. That’s the average amount of time a person can live without water. Living in a developed country we take water for granted, turning our faucets on daily to drink treated water, and enjoying bottled water from the springs of the Rocky Mountains.  Even so, water and its uses are causing a firestorm of controversy as we experience drought in areas such as California and issues over water usage at a local, national and global level.

When looking at the U.S. we have experienced several of the worst droughts in recent history across the corn belt, the Great Plains and now the west coast creating a heightened awareness among urban and rural groups. Mentions of the “Dust Bowl” are seemingly closer to reality than simply stories from the past. 

Nationally, water rights are causing controversy in Colorado and California, where farmers need the water to quench the thirst of their plants and animals, while increasing pressure from sprawling cities are demanding more water. California is the nations top producer of agricultural goods at $44.7 billion. It's extremely important that disaster relief is provided to keep rural communities and farmers in business. 

Additionally, with increasing commodity prices, specifically corn, we are seeing more land in states like Nebraska, South Dakota and Kansas being converted from grassland into farmland. These farms do not receive an adequate amount of rain to grow crops, so they must pull water from aquifers such as the Ogallala aquifer, which is the largest underground source of freshwater in the world.

Ogallala Aquifer

The problem is this aquifer is being pumped dry due to dry conditions and is not being replenished. We must work together to manage a safe, secure water supply while protecting national food security. If we lose this resource beneath the ground stretching from South Dakota to Texas, we will see a collapse of rural populations and crop production.

Where do we go from here?

We must begin utilizing this resource to the best of our ability. If we are able to efficiently manage water at the urban and rural level we can take these methods abroad. There are many uses for water beyond drinking that can be exploited around the world.

If you’ve been on the Mississippi River, you know the lock and dam system is what keeps our barges floating to create economic prosperity. Unfortunately, many of our locks and dams need to be renovated or replaced. They are crucial to transport maintaining a constant depth of water for barges to transport grain. If these locks and dams are shut down, we will lose the ease of transport enabling us to be a world power in food production.

Grain producers in the corn belt are some of the most fortunate areas in the world with with the mighty Mississippi and Missouri rivers bordering many of the grain producing states — the lifeblood of barge traffic transporting our grain to the Gulf of Mexico for export. This is going to be increasingly important as the stress on the water supply increases.

Furthermore, around $1 billion bushels of grain are shipped down the Mississippi to feed hungry mouths around the world. Closer attention to water transportation, and specifically the locks and dams, on Capitol Hill would ensure our system’s efficiency.

What about the global level?

When looking at the world’s water utilization, about 70 percent is used for agricultural purposes. It is not so easy for farmers and animals to access water. Fresh water is not always available to people in third world countries. People often carry buckets of water for miles to water their thirsty family, plants and animals.

As we continue to see global climate change and a growing population, the stress on our freshwater supply will continue to raise concerns. This stress is going to ultimately cause such instability that nations may resort to war for their most precious resource.

We must take a position of leadership and share our water management’s practices with other countries. Fortunately, our government has already taken a position of leadership with this real threat looming in the next 50 years by creating the U.S. Water Partnership. Their mission is to create a water-secure world, committing $610 million dollars.

From a standpoint of terrorism on water security we must be watchful of purposeful attacks on water and the infrastructure. If terrorists are able to cause harm by contaminating water or destructing dams we might see irrational acts of retaliation.

In summary, we need heightened awareness to our water supply at home and abroad. If we do not take a proactive approach, this resource we take for granted might create an unforeseen war that could be avoided with collaboration, preparation and ingenuity.

Family Farming- A Tradition that Must be Preserved

As humans, all of us have direct family ties to agriculture somewhere in our heritage. At the dawn of men,we were hunters and gatherers, living off the land to feed our families. From early humans to today’s farmers, family involvement in agriculture is a core value that has remained constant. We must preserve this dream by preserving this tradition through education, inspiration and opportunity for all.

Daily activities brought many families together over the years as they were spent working side by side with brothers and sisters to create a better life for future generations with the sweat, blood and tears that were poured into tilling up the land and caring for the animals. Regularly, five to seven young children worked together daily to feed the cows, plow the land and gather the eggs to help their mother and father.

Lauver reunion 1909 on family farm in Juniata County, Pennsylvania 

Naturally, as time progressed, technologies and innovations drew many young people to cities and towns to meet the needs of our service-driven economy. The issue that we face today is the large number of farmers whose children did not return to the family farm, and they do not have anyone who will take over the business.

In fact, only 2 percent of American families currently live on farms. This population provides the commodities we need to fuel our American economy. The concerning aspect is that the average age of the U.S. farmer is 57 years old. As it stands today, we have several issues that must be addressed to ensure prosperity for young men and women who may want to graduate and begin farming.

So what are the barriers for young farmers?

The first issue is internal succession planning. Unfortunately, when mothers and fathers pass away, they often have multiple children who may disagree on the passage of the farm. One sibling may want to continue to farm, but the other children may want to sell the farm, especially with prices for one acre of land reaching historic highs of $20,000. The dollar signs are appealing, but the benefits of carrying on the tradition must be realized. 

We must continue to provide assistance and counseling to families who want to pass their family farm onto the next generation through programs such as the Beginning Farmers Network and The Farm Journal Legacy project. 

Many times, families wait much too long to think about succession planning. Families need to take the proper steps to make sure that if a farm is able to stay in the family, it stays within the family.

It must be realized that a lack of planning is not only detrimental to the family on the farm, but an entire rural community. In rural areas with small populations, it is the leadership and promise that the next generation brings to school systems, churches and community organizations that must be recognized. We need young families to return to rural areas and expand upon the leadership and vision that prior generations have developed.

The second issue is the amount of capital that is required to start a farming operation. When you calculate the amount of land and machinery that is needed to run a successful business, it is going to require more than a $1 million investment alone to reach standard industry operation. We must provide support for young farmers who want to begin a career in production agriculture. Money from the government needs to be set aside for young farmers to begin farming with reduced interest rates on loans, which will contribute to promoting their long term growth.

A third issue that has settled recently, but will most likely come up again in the near future, is child labor on farms. Recently, family farms were under fire because of the children working on their farms. What must be realized is that children enjoy the work that they are doing on the family farm. Young farm children learn to work with animals as well as educate themselves on crop production and communication by taking part in the day-to-day farming practices. The other important aspect is the fact that they develop a passion for farming that will help them continue family tradition.

Finally, we need agricultural education in some way, shape or form from preschool to develop interest and understanding of agriculture for the next generation. Young children need to be taught about agricultural opportunities and also understand where their food comes from. If we are able to do this, we will bridge a gap, and young people who are multiple generations from the farm will have an understanding for the work their ancestors have accomplished. We need to begin educating the younger generations about the advantages of studying agriculture to ensure that there will be agriculturalists to feed the needs of our future generations.

As a next generation agriculturalist, I feel as though I won the birth lottery when I was born into a family that has farmland and an opportunity to continue to capitalize on the decisions of my great-grandfather, grandfather and father. The components that help family-run farms must be supported by the American public. They are unique diamonds in the rough that must be preserved with renewed attention paid to their survival. Rural America depends upon it.

Left to Right: Andrew Lauver, Don Lauver, Kevin Lauver and Jacob Lauver on family farm in Calhoun County, Iowa 

Who Will Feed Your World?

As the next generation of Americans, our generation must be prepared for the challenge of feeding a growing world population. Currently, we have more than 7 billion people on the planet who are consuming the food farmers produce on a daily basis. By 2050, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts this number may grow to 9 billion, and all Americans will be competing for a meal at the world’s table. The average age of the American farmer is 57, according to the USDA. Currently, only 2 percent of the American population lives on a farm.

So who will feed your family?

It’s going to take more than an eight-hour day of feeding, planting and harvesting to put food on your family’s table, so please listen up when an agriculturalist would like to explain where your food comes from. Farmers have worked hard to get that steak on your table or those corn flakes in your bowl. We also have a strong interest in the health and well-being of your family. As agriculturalists, we wake up every day providing feed for our animals before we have breakfast and bedding for our animals before we rest our heads.

As a next generation agriculturalist, I have a passion for agriculture, and the desire to feed your family for the rest of my life. This interest was nurtured and developed as while growing up on a family farm near Lake City, Iowa. My desire has blossomed during my time at Iowa State, where I am surrounded by other passionate agriculturalists. As farm kids, we learned hard work, tenacity, time management, negotiation skills and a strong sense of land stewardship. I want to give back to agriculture because it has given so much to my family and because I will have the opportunity to provide food for the world.

So who else will feed your family and friends?

I certainly can’t produce enough food to feed the world. The next generation of agriculturalists is being educated and developed on campuses and family farms around the nation. We’re learning it’s going to take innovation, persistence and passion to feed you. However, agriculturalists must stand up for our technologies and innovations. They seem to create scrutiny and criticism amongst the American population. It is time that we join together in an effort to feed the world. I ask you seek out one of those students on campus who wears cowboy boots, jeans and a hat even when it’s 100 degrees outside. Ask him or her about the importance of utilizing new technology in order to feed the world. You may be surprised by what they have to say.

America’s future in this competitive global landscape hinges on our ability to nurture and improve the export of agricultural commodities such as corn, soybeans and livestock to ensure a strong U.S. economy. Our crops and livestock are some of the greatest national resources our country has. Currently, we export roughly 30 percent of the cereal grains we produce to other countries to feed your world. The stronger agricultural exports are, the stronger the United States' economy will be.

With a growing population, Americans are going to need to constantly strive to be a global leader in food production. Right now, 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25/day; 1 billion people live on less than 1,800 calories because they cannot afford any more than that. Furthermore, 2.6 billion people in the world live on less than $2/day. The middle class is also expected to increase by 160 percent by the time we reach 2050. All of this is going to result in a stronger demand for that steak or those corn flakes at the world’s table.

As the middle class grows, they will continue to demand higher quality protein sources, like meat. As we consume more meat, we will need more livestock that consume cereal grains. Our challenge as agriculturalists is the fact there is no more than 10 percent of the world’s farmland left to produce crops on in the world. Farmers are going to have to produce more food on less land, as farmland is being overtaken by urban sprawl.

As the next generation of students to solve the world’s challenges, it is important for us to engage in agriculture by supporting farmers as they dream, innovate and design new technologies to feed the mouths at the world’s table. It’s an exciting time to enter the ever-changing world of agriculture, and I can assure you agriculturalists from Ethiopia to Iowa are preparing for the fun and challenging opportunities ahead.