SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
April 23, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 4/25/24
In this edition:
*Earth Day
*Farmer’s Markets
*Johnson County Agricultural Data
*Statewide Agricultural Data
*Farm Roots
*Did You Know?
*Earth Day
As usual, Johnson County passed a proclamation noting Earth Day, and urging the people of Johnson County to act in defense of our planet.
But did you know the history of Earth Day? First, there was a photo. The iconic “Earthwise” image snapped by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders from lunar orbit on Dec. 24, 1968, showed our planet as it really is: a lonely and fragile outpost of life suspended in an endless, inky-black void. That new perspective jolted many people awake and lit a fire under others, helping the nascent environmental movement gain cohesion and momentum, experts say.
That photo led to Earth Day. The rest of the story, from Wikipedia: In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed at the United Nations. A month later, United States Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. He hired a young activist, Denis Hayes, to be the National Coordinator. Nelson and Hayes renamed the event "Earth Day".
Denis and his staff grew the event beyond the original idea for a teach-in to include the entire United States. More than 20 million people poured out on the streets, and the first Earth Day remains the largest single-day protest in human history. Key non-environmentally focused partners played major roles. Under the leadership of labor leader Walter Ruether, for example, the United Auto Workers (UAW) was the most instrumental outside financial and operational supporter of the first Earth Day. According to Hayes, "Without the UAW, the first Earth Day would have likely flopped!" Nelson was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his work.
*Farmer’s Markets
It is almost May, and that means it is time for our local Farmer’s Markets! My mouth is watering!
People who know me know that I am a farmer’s market fanatic. I can be found at the Iowa City Farmer’s Market pretty much every Saturday. I love the food, I love the farmers, I love the customers … I love everything about it! See you at the market!
*Johnson County Agricultural Data
The Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers provided these statistics for both Johnson County and the State of Iowa:
There are 1,257 farms in Johnson County, totaling 304,239 acres. That is an average of 242 acres per farm. If I had to guess, I’d say these folks are defining a “farm” quite liberally.
And beware of averages! There are very few 242-acre farms out there. It is more like 8 twenty-acre farms, one 300-acre farm, and one 2000-acre farm. The average does not tell the story.
Johnson County is one of the only counties in Iowa where the number of farms is going up, but the acres farmed is going down. This reflects our strong local foods culture.
In 2022, the market value of Johnson County crops was $143 million. The value of livestock sold was $76 million.
Agriculture and ag-related industries accounted for 4,044 jobs, about 3% of the county total. Ag and ag-related industries accounted for $171 million in wages, and $867 million in sales.
Johnson County is a bit better than average when it comes to farmland; our average Corn Suitability Rating (CSR) is 69, while statewide it is 68. But of the land in production, the average CSR is closer to 80. We have more woodlands than most counties, which also affect things.
We think of Johnson County as an “urban” county, and rightfully so. All of these ag numbers have dropped over the past 10 years. Yet it is important that we recognize the huge role that agriculture plays in our local economy.
*Statewide Agricultural Data
Statewide, the economic impact of agriculture is truly staggering. Ag accounts for one out of every three dollars in the Iowa economy. One in 5 Iowans works in ag or ag-related industries. Iowa ranks number one in hogs, corn, soybeans, and eggs, and in the top 5 for cattle, chickens, and turkeys.
*Farm Roots
Anyone who has known me long knows that I grew up on the family farm. It is not just any family farm; both my maternal grandmother and maternal grandfather came from families that settled in Iowa prior to statehood. We have two family farms that have been in the family seven and eight generations, respectively. My family has been on the same land since 20 years before the start of the Civil War! So yes, I am proud of my family farm roots.
After growing up out on the farm, on a gravel road, miles from the nearest town, I moved to Iowa City. And while I love the things city life offers, I often miss the farm. One small connection that I maintain is my screensaver.
Both home and at work, my screensaver is a photo of my Grandpa, Ed Jack, winning the 1961 State Corn Picking Championship. I love the photo for a lot of reasons, but primarily the way in which he holds his hat in his hands. Though he had become quite wealthy through farming, he was a very humble man. The photo really captures that. And despite the fact that he had been using a mechanical combine for several years, he obviously had not lost his touch when it came to picking corn.
We used to pick a lot of sweet corn when I was a kid. If you have ever seen anyone pick corn by hand, you know that it is not easy. And my Grandpa was a perfectionist – you had to do it right! I knew intuitively why he won that contest – he had the cleanest row and fewest deductions. Sure enough, that was true.
My Grandpa loved to enter contests. He liked to experiment, and he had a competitive spirit. So his house was full of trophies and plaques. Only one, however, was first place. That was the State Corn Picking Championship.
Also on a shelf were about a dozen trophies earned in various statewide competitions. There were 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd place trophies – in some cases, multiples. Most of the awards were in yield competitions.
He got second in a highest yield contest in the late ‘50s, and once averaged 200 bushels per acre, which was the farming equivalent of breaking the 4-minute mile. The statewide average now is 189 bushels per acre, so technology has certainly caught up.
I remember the importance he placed on watching the markets. The guys who were working on the farm came into the house every day at EXACTLY 11:55. They washed their hands with Lava soap, filled their plates, and started to eat dinner. There was no “lunch” – dinner at noon, supper for the evening meal!
Then they put on the WMT noon news, with the volume cranked, because years on the tractor (no cab) had ruined my Grandpa’s hearing. (KCRG showed a soap opera at noon and had no noon news. That was an unforgiveable heresy in the eyes of my Grandfather!)
They would intently watch the markets, then decide what to do that afternoon. Maybe you got things ready to go to town and sell. Maybe not. The whole plan for the next 24 hours depended upon the market and the weather.
Nowadays, the commodities are presold on contract. There is no need to closely monitor prices and react. It is probably a lot less stressful. But at the time, it certainly seemed exciting to a kid watching it all unfold!
My Granny played a different role, and we kids were her helpers. Each family had HUGE gardens – between the 5 families, the garden space (not counting sweet corn and fruit trees) was probably over 2 acres. We spent all summer picking strawberries, asparagus, beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, apples, pears, lettuce, cabbage, radishes… then Granny showed us how to clean them, cut them, and store them.
Farming has changed a lot since I was a kid. I was recently asking my Mom who was renting the family’s various plots of land. She reported that there are only 3-4 people farming in the whole area, and that these operations have become so large that what used to be considered a sizeable farm (say, 250 acres) is barely worth their time to rent!
I never wanted to go into farming – I realized right away that I was a people person, and agriculture could get lonely. But I miss those days, and remember them fondly.
*DID YOU KNOW? Iowa has 49,065 women active in farm operations, 34% of the total number of farmers.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:12 PM
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