Letter to the Editor: Some changes are hard on small to mid-sized independent family farms and communities

This past week, I passed the one-month mark since becoming the new executive director for the Iowa Farmers Union, and WOW … what a great organization to be associated with!

The Iowa Farmers Union is involved in all kinds of things, like discussing state and federal policy with IFU members and lobbyists at the Statehouse, working for and supporting local foods, fighting against corporate monopolies, and working hard to improve the financial well-being of independent family farmers (sometimes considered to be a dying breed). The organization’s views and philosophy align quite nicely with my own, and it is great to be associated with an organization that has such an impact on where our farms and our families live and do business.

That said, it has been a learning experience that will continue for many months, if not years, to come. Without going off on a tangent, I am not happy with the direction agriculture in Iowa has gone. Many years ago, back in the 1970s and 1980s, farms were much more diverse in size, grain crops grown, and livestock species common to most farmers.

Another sign of the times is the transition to larger farms, larger cooperatives, larger banks, etc. The changes are hard on small to mid-sized independent family farms and hard on communities. The Iowa Farmers Union’s focus is on helping those smaller farms find a way to make a decent living for their families. When that happens, it not only helps farm families but also keeps schools, hospitals, and grocery stores thriving in local communities throughout the state.

After farming for many years, I had the opportunity to move overseas and manage a couple of international agricultural projects: one large grain project in Romania and a large swine project in the Philippines. People used to ask what it was like living “over there.” Often, I would say it was like stepping back in time to the period my grandparents lived through.

In the evenings after dinner, if you lived in a town or a small village, you didn’t turn on the TV or the computer. Instead, you went out for a stroll. A person or family would take an hour or more just to walk around the neighborhood, stopping to chew the fat with their neighbors while the kids played. When you needed groceries, you went to the butcher shop for meat, the dairy for milk, the open market stalls for your vegetables, and the bakery for bread. I know we can never go back, and perhaps it is just as well because life was a lot harder back then, but it also had its positives.

I think you can be very proud of this organization called the Iowa Farmers Union. As I move forward and, with your help, define what the Executive Director position becomes, I will need your guidance and your advice. We need to work together to improve the economics for the independent family farmer in Iowa. Together, we can accomplish a lot. Thank you in advance, and let’s all work hard to make some progress in the years ahead and just as hard to get to know each other better and have some fun along the way. Please feel free to reach out to me, by email or phone, or just stop by the office.

Dave Andrews

Executive Director of Iowa Farmers Union