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Farm area exodus continues

Published 12:00am Friday, March 30, 2001

For 26 years, John and Jill Walkup have farmed together on 1,000 acres in Western Township. And during that quarter of a century, they’ve seen neighboring farmsteads slowly dwindle away. &uot;Farming has changed quite a lot over the years,&uot; John said. &uot;There just isn’t the room for mistakes anymore.&uot; As more and more farmland is gobbled up by large farms, mid-sized farms such as the Walkups have taken the hardest hit. In March 2000, there were 508 farms within the county; this year, there are only 458, according to the University of Minnesota Extension Service. U.S. Census figures also confirm the decreases. In Otter Tail County, 12 townships lost population since 1990. The majority lie on the county’s west or east edges, both considered traditional farming areas. Aastad Township recorded the highest population loss percentage in the county at 20.7 percent. In addition, the five townships which qualify or come close to qualifying for the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition of frontier – a population of six or fewer per square mile – are Aastad, Carlisle, Oscar, Trondhjem and Western, all of which are on the county’s west end and are traditional farming areas. The effect of the declining ag economy is even more pronounced in Grant and Wilkin counties. Three townships in Grant and five in Wilkin had population losses of 10 percent or higher. Three Grant and eight Wilkin County townships fit the former U.S. Census Bureau definition of frontier – less than 3 persons per square mile. Wilkin County as a whole lost 378 people, or 5.03 percent of its population in the past decade, and Grant County gained only 43 people, a 0.69 percent increase. The Walkups say the increased competition farmers face globally had a lot to do with many farmers folding and leaving the area. &uot;We’re not just competing within the state or even within the nation,&uot; John said. &uot;We’re now competing with mega farms in South America and other parts of the world.&uot; It got to the point where the Walkups questioned whether they should specialize or diversify. &uot;I figured unless you’re a really big farm, you need to diversify,&uot; he said. &uot;Mid-size farms are probably the most endangered farm there is.&uot; Smaller farms are fairing a little better within the county, in part because many farmers either have a full- or part-time job off of the farm. Each year, the Walkups plant corn, soybeans, navy beans, wheat and alfalfa and also have beef cow calves and are custom raising dairy heifers. Jill helps quite a bit, especially during planting season, when she does most of the feeding for the cows. Their son, Chad, helps out as well. &uot;I don’t think there are a lot of farmers encouraging their kids to get into farming,&uot; John said. &uot;I encourage Chad to try some other things for awhile; if he likes farming, he can come back to it then.&uot; Growing up John loved working at his grandparents’ farm. By the time he graduated from school, his grandfather was ready to retire and John took over. &uot;What used to be a way of life – and you could relax after a hard day’s work – now has so much pressure,&uot; he said. &uot;The machinery now can do so much more in less time, which is supposed to make life easier, is causing people to till more land and work even harder.&uot; And it’s not just mid-sized farms, either. The last dairy farmer in Western Township left about seven years ago, Jill said. &uot;Now there are farmsteads, but not as many farms,&uot; she added. One trend John noticed in the past few years is people are buying or renting farmsteads without farming the land. Houses that used to sit empty are now brought back to life by new families enjoying the countryside. &uot;More and more people are living the rural life but aren’t farming,&uot; he said. &uot;The have the quiet serenity of farming … without the work.&uot; But despite the hard work, the ups and downs of prices, the Walkups said they’d still give it a whirl if given a second chance. &uot;Everyone said it would be impossible when we started and we made it,&uot; John said. &uot;While I wouldn’t do everything exactly the same, I’d still farm again.&uot;