It’s great to see a rural angle on standing up against Republican racism and the chosen Republican narrative about immigration. Regarding a general title about how to grow rural Iowa, however, Democrats need to emphasize a narrative theme of their own choosing, such as a contrast between the 2 parties on the farm bill. I emphasize the historical Democratic approach from the New Deal, to make a profit on farm exports and sales out of states and counties like Kossuth, with no subsidies needed. It contrasts with Republican big spending that loses money vs full costs, subsidizing foreign and domestic buyers. Generalizations about " navigating decline" don't get there. I’ve estimated that farm program reductions since the height of the New Deal, (plus subsidies,) have added up to trillions of dollars lost by U.S. agriculture, with reductions for Iowa agriculture in the low hundreds of billions of dollars, (so a huge reduction for Kossuth County). As of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, since 1950, (during the parity years of the Democratic New Deal,) Kossuth County has lost 95% of its farms with value-added cattle and hogs, 99% of its farms with poultry sales, and 99.9% of its farms with dairy sales. Cheap grain subsidizing CAFOs & AgBiz devastated the county. This left only low value crops, such as corn, which had returns below USDA full costs every year 1981-2006 (except 1996,) and again, every year, 2014-2020, including the Trump years. As a result, Kossuth County also lost farms and acreages of the sustainable livestock crops, a loss of 99% of its farms and acres of pasture on cropland, 93% of its farms and 90% of it’s acreages of hay, and 99.6% of its farms and 98% of it’s acres of oats. You won’t fix this with so called bi-partisan (Republican) farm bills and green subsidies. To then bring poor immigrants into this normalized bi-partisan farm economy context is not a very helpful solution.
My church in Dubuque runs a homeless shelter for families with children. We give them shelter and try to help them get a new start in life. It's been very successful. Last winter, we hosted a Marshallese family. These immigrants are in this country legally due to the US history of testing nuclear weapons on their home islands. This family was a delight, and they transitioned to independent living just after the new year. Then January 20 happened. Trump's new hostility towards immigrants pushed them into hiding. Again, they were here legally, and yet they were afraid to go to the grocery store. Stories like these are NOT helping to grow Iowa. This is a good family. They are exactly the kind of hard working people we want here to help build the future. Sorry, I've gone on for too long. Let me close by saying thank you, Matt, for shining a light on what the administration's policies are doing to Iowa's future.
Thanks for these great comments. Just the right length. And thanks for all you and our church do to make the world a better place. And great that we got to have coffee this morning while you were in Des Moines. Good luck to you and Mike planting the tomato plants!
And FYI, I fact checked my memory of my French teacher from AHS that ended up at Valley High School tonight. She confirmed that the Anita students did in fact find the job posting for her during study hall that led to her getting hired at Valley. Thanks for the kind words. Your Signs of the Time post is amazing!
It’s great to see a rural angle on standing up against Republican racism and the chosen Republican narrative about immigration. Regarding a general title about how to grow rural Iowa, however, Democrats need to emphasize a narrative theme of their own choosing, such as a contrast between the 2 parties on the farm bill. I emphasize the historical Democratic approach from the New Deal, to make a profit on farm exports and sales out of states and counties like Kossuth, with no subsidies needed. It contrasts with Republican big spending that loses money vs full costs, subsidizing foreign and domestic buyers. Generalizations about " navigating decline" don't get there. I’ve estimated that farm program reductions since the height of the New Deal, (plus subsidies,) have added up to trillions of dollars lost by U.S. agriculture, with reductions for Iowa agriculture in the low hundreds of billions of dollars, (so a huge reduction for Kossuth County). As of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, since 1950, (during the parity years of the Democratic New Deal,) Kossuth County has lost 95% of its farms with value-added cattle and hogs, 99% of its farms with poultry sales, and 99.9% of its farms with dairy sales. Cheap grain subsidizing CAFOs & AgBiz devastated the county. This left only low value crops, such as corn, which had returns below USDA full costs every year 1981-2006 (except 1996,) and again, every year, 2014-2020, including the Trump years. As a result, Kossuth County also lost farms and acreages of the sustainable livestock crops, a loss of 99% of its farms and acres of pasture on cropland, 93% of its farms and 90% of it’s acreages of hay, and 99.6% of its farms and 98% of it’s acres of oats. You won’t fix this with so called bi-partisan (Republican) farm bills and green subsidies. To then bring poor immigrants into this normalized bi-partisan farm economy context is not a very helpful solution.
My church in Dubuque runs a homeless shelter for families with children. We give them shelter and try to help them get a new start in life. It's been very successful. Last winter, we hosted a Marshallese family. These immigrants are in this country legally due to the US history of testing nuclear weapons on their home islands. This family was a delight, and they transitioned to independent living just after the new year. Then January 20 happened. Trump's new hostility towards immigrants pushed them into hiding. Again, they were here legally, and yet they were afraid to go to the grocery store. Stories like these are NOT helping to grow Iowa. This is a good family. They are exactly the kind of hard working people we want here to help build the future. Sorry, I've gone on for too long. Let me close by saying thank you, Matt, for shining a light on what the administration's policies are doing to Iowa's future.
Thanks for these great comments. Just the right length. And thanks for all you and our church do to make the world a better place. And great that we got to have coffee this morning while you were in Des Moines. Good luck to you and Mike planting the tomato plants!
“As a rural Iowan, I am accustomed to navigating decline.” You are an incredible writer, Matt Russell. Thank you again, and always, for your words.
And FYI, I fact checked my memory of my French teacher from AHS that ended up at Valley High School tonight. She confirmed that the Anita students did in fact find the job posting for her during study hall that led to her getting hired at Valley. Thanks for the kind words. Your Signs of the Time post is amazing!
Fantastic article. Thank you for sharing our story and efforts. It was great to meet you and feel your passion.
Beautifully said Matt!