One or both parents in a farm family may have another job to bring in a steady income to supplement farm income. It's a clever phrase with a distinct ring of truth to it, and it points out how farm economics are having an impact on the job market in other employment sectors. People who used to work on farms have entered into competition for jobs in a market where stable, well-paying jobs are hard to come by. The variety of crops grown and livestock raised in Miner County in the past has largely given way to high production of very few items. Barley is nowhere to be found today, and production of wheat, oats, and sunflowers all dropped over 50 percent from 1992 to 1997.
Corn is the current king of crops here, and soybean production is also important to a lesser degree.
In livestock, the name of the game is beef cattle. Milking enterprises and production of hogs, pigs, sheep, and lambs are all down significantly. In both crops and livestock, farmers are streamlining operations and focusing on a very few things that are most likely to bring financial gains. It's what they've had to do, and it's a trend that can be seen in every county neighboring ours. In terms of crop de-diversification, Miner County is very much like our neighbors.