by Chas Bonner
COMPETETIVENESS OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURE
Please excuse what may appear to be a personal “travelogue,” knowing there is a message about agriculture.
For the past 2 weeks, my wife and I were on a river boat cruise from Vienna, Austria to Amsterdam, Holland via the Danube, Main and Rhine Rivers. At first, I was reluctant to go, thinking “this kind of travel is for old folks” (and I am a mere 68). But was I wrong; it could not have been more interesting and enjoyable!
We would cruise sometimes during the day, but normally at night, and while the daily hikes through historic castles, cathedrals, and villages was intriguing, what caught the agriculturist’s eye when cruising during daylight hours were comparisons and contrasts of U.S. to German, and Dutch farming.
Even for the non-farmers, European agriculture was a fascination. Boat travelers were constantly discussing how beautiful and prolific all these farms were, while my thoughts were “No wonder European food is so expensive.”
The high expense of European farming was evident at every turn of the river. Each hectare of arable land is farmed, even 30-40 degree slopes. Most grape vineyards are planted on steep slopes, with the vine rows vertical to the slope rather than horizontal as one might logically think. Those vineyards had all kinds of concrete erosion preventers, and nonetheless a big rainstorm always caused havoc. Wheat, barley and rye were abundant and planted right up to the edge of town or forests. Minimal irrigation systems are in use, but in Holland spending is profuse on pumping water OUT of farmland, with 15-20 inch pipes visible everywhere, all emptying into canals. Finally, what added mostly (in my opinion) to the beauty of European farming was that virtually no houses or other buildings are on the farm; all homes are in the villages where the farmer lives and commutes daily to his farm---via either his tractor or his Mercedes.
We are fortunate in the U.S. that most of our farmland is more extensive and can therefore be farmed less intensively and less expensively. In short, we can be more competitive.
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