Cyclist takes pulse of U.S. farming

Justin Ellis' business card lists his occupation as "Seeker."

It's a pretty good job title for a young man who spent his summer trekking across the United States on a bicycle, visiting farms to discover the state of American agriculture.

He's visited 60 farms in his trek and has discovered - to no one's surprise - that farming as a way of life is under stress in America.

"People... are skeptical of future prospects," he said.

Farmers feel a reduction in the pride and respect accorded to their way of life, and many are not sure they want to see their children carry on what has been for many a livelihood and culture spanning generations.

Ellis saw evidence of this before he even started his trek, in his home town of Clarksville, Georgia.

The community is rapidly changing, with an influx of newcomers with no connection to the poultry farming that has been the town's economic mainstay. The sense of common values is eroding.

"There was a lot of division in the community that wasn't there before," Ellis said. "You just didn't have the same community dynamics that you did. The community ceased to have pride in (its farming heritage)."

That kind of change was a common phenomenon across the nation. Ellis chose the bicycle largely in order to get a closer view.

"I thought I'd understand it better if I visited these farms by bicycle instead of the rapid pace of an automobile," he said.

His seeking has a purpose. Ellis is in a master's degree program at the University of Georgia, heading for a career in shaping agricultural policy. He hopes to craft policy that will support small farming.

"I needed to understand the playing field better," he said.

The picture is not all bleak. Ellis noted that many farmers and ranchers are finding local niche markets with high quality, specialized products. The model of Oregon Country Beef, which seeks local markets and partners with restaurants such as Sisters' Depot Deli, may hold out real possibilities for farmers.

"The farther apart the producer is from the consumer, the less viable it is for the farmer," Ellis said.

The cultivation of local markets may be an antidote to the erosion of farmers' ability to make a living.

"People are seeing hope in that," Ellis said.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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