America’s farming families have a rich heritage of national history tied up in their family trees.  Old farm houses carry secrets and surprises that no one could possibly imagine!  Many old farms are being preserved and converted into monuments in America where people can visit and see how life was lived at one time in America’s beginning years.  At ThisOldFarm.net, we will highlight some of the country’s most beautiful farms.  Hear the stories of people who were born and raised on these historic properties and enjoy learning about history from a more personal perspective than any textbook can offer.

When I was a little girl I lived on a farm, complete with a red barn. Not a big farm but I was proud to tell everyone that we had a farm. My dad raised animals and planted a huge garden every year.

On this farm we had some? no we are not singing Old Mac Donald, although I did when people asked what animals we had. Anyway, my dad had a couple of cows and a bull. I was really little when he had them. He said it was pointless to raise them if my mom, sister and myself refused to eat Betsy. So no more cows.

He also had a chicken coop with what seemed like a hundred chickens when you went in to gather the eggs. Chickens are not very freiendly. We had a couple of hogs. The hogs were funny; they always got out of the pen. Watching my brothers and dad round these big ol animals back to their pen was hilarious. We even had a few turkeys, rabbits, a pony and goats.

The goats were my favorite they were funny. These guys ate everything in sight. We started off with two. Two females, one was pregnant when we got her. She never had less than three each time she delivered. At one time we had over forty goats. We didn?t eat the goats but by dad would drink the milk. They would slowly disappear, dad just didn?t tell us where they were going.

It was a lot of hard work living on my farm. During the summer my brother and I would put on our boots and head to the barn to gather eggs, clean stalls and pens, feed and water the animals and gallop the pony. I have a lot of respect for those that have farms of any size.

pWe visited a working farm this past fall with our home school group, and it was a great learning experience! We spent the whole day exploring all the different aspects of a working farm, and learning about why they are important today. /p
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pWe got to see farm animals, and learn about their different jobs on the farm, and the kids even got to pet some of them. We also got to learn about the different crops that grew on this particular farm and how they were used by people once they were harvested, for things other than just food. For example, there are lots of uses for all parts of the corn plant, not just the ears that we eat!/p
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pThe farm that we visited also had a pumpkin patch, and we all got to take a hayride down to the patch and pick our own pumpkins. There were pumpkins of all sizes, and we got to see up close what a pumpkin plant looks like before it becomes the orange melon. It’s actually a small white flower that turns to a green bud and then grows to the pumpkin we recognize today./p
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pOne of my daughter’s favorite parts was as we were getting to leave and one of the chickens laid an egg. She got to hold a real farm “fresh” egg! All in all, it was a wonderful day learning about all of the things that go into work on the farm. It’s definitely something we’ll do again next year as part of our curriculum! If your school group is looking for a great local field trip that will have everyone engaged, consider a farm trip – you’ll be glad you did!/p

pIt seems like no matter what part of the country you might be traveling in, there are at least some old farmhouses to be found. There are more farmhouses than any other kind of house. There are two reasons that there are so many farmhouses. The first is because most farmhouses are built to last. The second reason is because the farmers who originally built and owned the old houses took really good care of them. If you currently own an old farmhouse you know just how nice they really are, you also know that they sometimes need some renovations./p
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pOne of the things you are going to want to do is have an electrician come in and replace all of the old wiring. This is one renovation process you don’t want to put off. It is not at all uncommon for the wiring in old farmhouses to get chewed by mice or to just plain wear out. Wiring that has had all of the protective coating chewed away will throw sparks, which can lead to a house fire. Having a professional come in and inspect your wiring will keep your family safe./p
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pThe other thing that you are going to want to do is to replace the furnace. You really need to replace whatever the home is currently using with a HVAC forced air furnace. The furnace is going to be safer to use, more efficient, and keep your entire home heated as opposed to just the perimeter of the rooms. Since most old farmhouses already have heating ducts, the only thing you should need is the furnace itself./p
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pThere are a lot of rewarding things about owning an old farmhouse and also long as you keep the home properly maintained, it will last another 100 years or so./p

The best part about living in the country, or just outside of town for that matter, is the fact that you and your family have the opportunity to supplement your grocery budget by growing fresh vegetables.  There’s nothing better than a salad made from vegetables right out of the garden or being able to preserve quarts of veggies and sauces to cook and eat during the winter.

Your first decision when planting a garden is the site.  The closer you are to the house, obviously the more convenient it will be to maintain.  However, it is very important that a site is chosen that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day in order for the vegetables to mature and produce well.  Soil quality and drainage are also considerations which will affect your decision about the garden’s location.  Water must not be allowed to puddle or sit around the plants as this will cause rot and damage growing vegetables.  Windy areas tend to dry out and even break off stalks of growing plants.   The area you choose should be close to a water supply as well.  It can be done, but dragging long hoses out to water a garden is backbreaking and unnecessary work.  Last but not least, choose a place that can be visited daily so you can monitor the general health of your plants and watch for damaging insects and pests.

Deciding on what vegetables to grow will depend upon your family’s preferences and the purpose of your garden.  Will the garden supply just your own family or are you planning to offer extra food to your neighbors and friends, or even to local shelters and charities?  If you plant from seed packets, make sure you read the information about planting time based on the region of the country where you live because some vegetables are more hardy than others  and can be planted sooner in the season.  Make sure your cucumbers, squash, pumpkins and watermelon have plenty of room to spread.   Potatoes and strawberries grow best in hills and elevated mounds to prevent the possibility of rot.  Tomatoes must also be staked to keep them in the sun and off the ground.   If you plant more than one row of corn, make sure the rows are far enough apart to allow pickers to walk between as they harvest the ears.

If you keep the soil tilled between the plants, and visit your garden every day to pick out weeds, you will be able to enjoy your vegetables as you watch them grow to maturity.  Children especially can help with the care and weeding of the garden, and that effort will help them appreciate the end result when it comes time to harvest your bounty.

Farming in the 1940’s seemed like Boot Camp to us.  Because of World War II, there were no hired men to take up any slack in the chores and duties necessary to keep a farm running smoothly.  Our family, however, filled the bill with seven girls all working from the ripe old age of 6.  Farm equipment was rudimentary at best, with our John Deere tractor being the only piece of modern farm machinery anywhere around.

Our horses labored as hard as we did, with teams pulling hay wagons during dawn to dusk days of harvesting and storing feed for the cows.  At first, we had only a small herd of about 15 head, but they had to be fed, milked and taken to pasture and brought in again to the old barn every evening before dark.  The milk had to be separated with a hand crank and the cream was used for cooking while the milk was sold and loaded into creamery tanks.   With our father’s stern hand and loving guidance we all learned how to drive the tractor, how to milk and herd cows, how to bail hay, and how important it was to raise food to feed others including the soldiers fighting overseas.

Our dad was an eighth grade graduate who took advantage of quiet evenings by reading as much as he could so he could keep up with his children who all eventually graduated with college degrees.  However, we could always entice him to play a game of checkers, which he inevitably would win no matter how rough the day had been.  The years of breathing hay dust overtook him in the end when he succumbed to Emphysema at age 72.

The life of a farmer in the mid-1900’s was simple yet demanding, physically exhausting but rewarding, and a choice that only the strong of heart could endure.    Their love for the land and their persistence through those years in American history should always be remembered, admired and appreciated.

We are all subject to the high commodity prices that have resulted in a major cost increase in all kinds of food products.  Partially to blame for the increase in commodity prices is the steep spike in oil prices.  Is it possible that commodity prices could increase to a level where they actually destroy demand?  This is a question that has puzzled economic analysts.  They insist that based on the model of supply and demand, a change in consumption due to a change in prices does not actually represent a change in demand.  Confusing, right?  Let’s break it down a little more.

Shifts in consumption can be caused by a variety of different factors.  One big factor that often affects commodity prices today is the profitability for end users.  For example, let’s look at corn.  Corn has several end users ranging from people to livestock to companies that use corn to produce ethanol.  Greater consumption in any of these areas does not mean that the demand slacks off in other areas.  The market sift dictates that the corn goes to whoever pays the most for it.  So when beef becomes a hot commodity and cattle raisers decide to increase the amount of their herd, their consumption of corn goes up as well.  This increase in consumption actually often results in an increase in price, even as the demand for the product goes up.

The laws of supply and demand are not as cut and dry as they were centuries ago.  With so many factors impacting prices and consumption it is hard to pinpoint one reason why prices rise so steeply at times.  The thing to recognize is that even severe increases in commodity price will likely never destroy demand completely.  The usual result is a shift in who or what consumes the commodity the most at any given time.  As market analysts look for ways to better predict certain trends, it is safe to make the assumption that moving into the foreseeable future prices will continue to rise, and consumers will simply have to find ways to pay for what they need.

In order to be sustainable, an agricultural system must be able to maintain its usefulness and productivity to society for an indefinite period.  Such a system must also conserve resources, protect the environment, produce effectively enough to compete commercially while enhancing the farmer’s quality of life and that of society in general. Unless the resource base is conserved and protected, it will be degraded in productivity, even eventually losing its ability to produce.  Again, unless the people are provided with adequate amounts of safe and healthy food at affordable costs while at the same time, their quality of life is enhanced, the system will not be sustainable.

In defense of the industrial model of farming, it may or may not operate successfully over time.  It may be possible to redesign and fine tune the original, bringing forth a new model which is acceptable to the social and ecological standards necessary to maintain long-term productivity, leaving the fundamental philosophy of farming intact.  An alternative model has evolved and is being considered to address the ecological, economic and social balances needed in today’s massive agricultural markets.  It is commonly called, “sustainable agriculture” but must stand the test of time before it can replace the system now in control.  Economic performance relies on the achievement of the entire organism, which will require a holistic systems approach in farm resource management.  For example:

1. Rely more on nutrient recycling, the fixation of nitrogen and the relationships of pest and predator.  Use current and researched knowledge of nature and the ecosystem to enhance production.

2. Use less inputs from off the farm.   Use natural enhancers and inhibitors to control production.

3. Encourage more use of biological and genetic capability of plant and animal species.  Develop hybrids naturally versus using chemicals and artificial hormones to enhance production.

4. Improve matching of the patterns in which plants are set.  Use the natural order of botanical principles to keep production consistent.

5. Emphasize farm resources management as well as conservation of soil, water and energy.  Reduce chemicals, reuse soil and plant resources, and recycle water and energy to help reduce production costs.

Such a system’s approach to agriculture will require the cooperation of communities as a whole.  Success for sustainable farms will rely on constant research and development of new methods of natural production, environmental awareness, ecologically sound practices, and economic challenges that must be shared by producers and consumers alike.

The current status of American agriculture has evolved over the past few decades.  There have been dramatic changes in the ways that foods are being produced, processed, distributed and marketed to the public. Industrialization of the food system started most notably with the meat packing industry as early as the late 1800’s and has gone mostly unchecked for the past thirty years.  For example, today four meat packers control 80 percent of the marketing of beef.  This is also true in virtually every food processing sector where a few large corporations dominate the market.

Industrialization of retail foods began when regional supermarkets began to replace “mom and pop” grocery stores in the 1940’s.  Within 30 years, these regional markets were consolidated into national chains.  Walmart, using its position of dominance as a discount retailer, broadened its span to include food and quickly became the largest food retailer in America.  The response of other national chains has been to merge, resulting in the food market being controlled by six corporate entities.

In much the same way, McDonald’s began replacing the “away from home” food market in the 1950’s when housewives moved from the kitchen to the workforce and the fast-growing restaurant chain paved the way for similar franchises.  Today, more than 50 percent of the food market is spent for meals away from home and many of the fast food franchises are consolidated so that a few large corporations control the entire market.

The industrialization of agriculture occurred more slowly but was spurred on by the introduction of new product-enhancing chemical and biological technologies and improved mechanical techniques designed to increase production.  After World War II, the development of artificial chemical pesticides and nitrogen fertilizers allowed farmers to standardize and mechanize production, thereby opening the door for consolidation of small independent operations into much larger cooperative farms.

Unfortunately, individual farmers throughout the world are virtually powerless to exert economic or political power over these overwhelming trends.  Corporations currently control the vast majority of farms which sell and profit from world markets.   The best solution for farmers to survive in the current world of agricultural production and to exert any kind of positive influence toward the sustainability of future farming systems,  is to work with and be a contributing member of the corporate entity.