Lutherans Confront Farming Crisis in North Dakota

"We just keep waiting and waiting, hoping that the price of grain will go up."
"We live on a family farm, southwest of Wing, North Dakota. It was the farm Delbert, my husband, was born and raised on. Part of our house is about 100 years old," said Arlene Olson, a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wing.
"We grow wheat, oats and barley, but the oats and barley is mostly for feed for our cattle, so wheat is our cash crop. We're suppose to sell when the market is high, but we pretty much sell when we need money to make a payment."
North Dakota farmers and ranchers annually produce enough wheat for 108 billion sandwiches, pork for 65 million pork chops, barley for 42 billion cans of beer and enough milk for 1.6 billion glasses. While each North Dakota farmer grows enough food to feed 129 people, some farmers are having a hard time feeding themselves.
Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) involved in hunger ministries are concerned about the hundreds of farmers and ranchers living on the brink of financial ruin and the many more who are quitting this year because they cannot earn a living from their farm operations.
High production costs, combined with poor yields and low prices, have effectively locked out rural North Dakota from the economic growth across the rest of the nation, according to a survey conducted this year by the North Dakota Farmers Union, an organization working for "the prosperity of family farms and rural communities."
"Farmers can deal with the weather ... insects and weeds, but we cannot deal with government's bad policies," said Olson.
"When the government imposed the Freedom to Farm Bill in 1996, it took away a 'safety net.' The bill allows farmers to plant whatever they want, but soon there will be little compensation if farmers cannot sell their commodities at a fair market price," said Olson.
Competition in the marketplace has become severe in North Dakota. Four companies control 87 percent of all beef slaughter, 60 percent of all pork slaughter, 74 percent of all wet corn milling and 62 percent of all flour milling. Farmers and ranchers often have a choice of only one or two buyers, so producers are put in the position of "take it or leave it."
"Most family farms in North Dakota come in different sizes," said Olson. "A true family farm is operated by a family that may include just a husband and wife, or it might be husband, wife and children who are married. The average age of a farmer here is 50. We have very few young farmers simply because they cannot afford to farm here."
"Farmers usually farm until their equity is gone. By equity, I mean everything that farmers have built up in past years, such as land, supplies and machinery," said Olson. "Input costs have gone up and seem to go up every year. There are expenses if livestock is not healthy, fertilizer costs, rent if a farmer does not own the land, and fuel and repair costs to keep farm equipment operational. Farmers keep their equipment until it is completely worn out, but it's becoming harder and harder to buy good used equipment," she said.
"The closing of farms and ranches are forcing farmers to look for different jobs if they are not old enough to retire. It is a very depressed state because these farmers have farmed for 20 to 30 years, and that is the only thing they know how to do, the only thing they want to do and love doing," said Olson.
In 1996 there were a total of 31,000 family farms in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Agriculture Statistic Service, a federal agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"Today there are 30,500 family farms. The average farm is 1,318 acres compared to the national average of 469 acres," said Roger Johnson, commissioner of agriculture for the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, in an interview. Johnson is a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Bismarck.
Negative net returns on wheat and cattle, North Dakota's principal agricultural products, have led to the declining net farm income, said a report from the Commission on the Future of Agriculture. Johnson was a member the Commission's steering committee.
"Today's trends show that net farm income does not provide enough for a family farmer's living expenses," said Johnson. "About 80 percent of income tends to go toward farming expenses such as fuel, repairs, seed and rent, plus debt, interest on debt, taxes, capital assets and retirement."
Net cash farm income in the state has fallen from a per farm average of $50,091 in 1993 to just $15,190 in 1997, according to the report from the Commission on the Future of Agriculture. "Profitability for producers is virtually impossible in this situation, with family living expenses now exceeding average net cash farm income."
"There is a perception that farming is a prosperous industry, but the reality is that farming is a struggling business with a tremendous amount of debt," said Gary Orman, director of member operations for the North Dakota Farmers Union. "Farmers are the envy of food production in the world, but we are dismantling the production as we speak." Orman is a member of Atonement Lutheran Church, Jamestown, N.D.
"Many family farmers do not want the public to know they need help. People tend to be private, but they do talk to each other," said the Rev. Muriel L. Schauer, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Wing.
"I think it is important for people to have a good understanding of where their food really comes from and the issues that are faced by farmers and ranchers on a daily basis," said Schauer. "Having a better understanding of agriculture will also help people to understand more fully the development issues and priorities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran World Relief and other partner agencies around hunger."
Lutheran World Relief works overseas in relief and development on behalf of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.
An objective of the ELCA's World Hunger Program is "to facilitate listening and working together with those who have special awareness of the realities of food and hunger ... and those who produce, process and distribute food." Other objectives include "to foster the education ... and confront the reality and underlying causes of hunger" and "to provide relief and development assistance for those who suffer from hunger and injustices related to hunger in this and other countries." The ELCA, in order to sustain its World Hunger Program, established a continuing hunger appeal.
"Behind the images of discouraged farmers are images of social breakdown. There is domestic abuse, alcoholism, stress-related illnesses, strained relations with lenders, decreased ability to care for aging parents, and, especially where farmers and ranchers co-exist with Native Americans, a worsening of race relations," said the Rev. Leslie F. Weber, associate executive director for the ELCA's Division for Church in Society.

"These are discrete problems and one has to see the bigger picture. There is a great connection between economic stress and social breakdown," said Weber. "The heartland is the source of America's cultural and family values. If we loose that in the heartland, how will this affect the rest of the country?"
"The church has a stake in the economy, but traditionally the church has been the preserver of cultural values, particularly family values. If the cultural values of society break down, the church will feel the impact," said Weber.
The Rev. Richard W. Owens, Nazareth Lutheran Church, Kenmare, N.D., said, "One way congregations are making an impact is by providing pastoral care, but many farmers do not talk about their personal concerns."
"The change in rural America today is that there are fewer and fewer people. There are no opportunities for mak