He was the owner, laborer and business manager rolled into one. It was his blood, sweat and tears that enabled him to make the farm payments year after year. It was his call from whom to buy, and when and where to sell. Generations of Iowa farmers have carried the risky burdens inherent to crop and livestock farming. Nowadays, the lines are blurring.
Farmers know that uncertainty comes with the territory.
Cyclical commodity prices and weather patterns promise good times and bad. However in recent years, more family farmers are feeling exceptionally vulnerable to changes taking place in the global marketplace. Concentration in agriculture is one of their main concerns. Like most other sectors of the economy, agriculture has seen an extraordinary level of consolidation among corporate players in the agribusiness industry. Whether it's input or output, from the seed supplier to the grain buyer, the independent producer is feeling squeezed in the middle with fewer choices left to his discretion.