valley. Here, the percentage of sold land converted to non-farm use has nearly doubled in the last ten years, with Crawford and Vernon counties reaching some of the highest levels in the state. From 1995-1999, Crawford County led the watershed with a 45% conversion rate (a statistic noted by PATS as probably underreported). And according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, Vernon County lost more than 150 farms in the five years from 1992-1997.
 The Program on Agricultural Technology Studies (PATS) at UW-Madison informs us that “the demand for rural housing and recreational land development has resulted in a dramatic acceleration in the rate of farmland conversion to non-farm uses over the last 15 years.” This is not news to the citizens of the Kickapoo valley. Here, the percentage of sold land converted to non-farm use has nearly doubled in the last ten years, with Crawford and Vernon counties reaching some of the highest levels in the state. From 1995-1999, Crawford County led the watershed with a 45% conversion rate (a statistic noted by PATS as probably underreported). And according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, Vernon County lost more than 150 farms in the five years from 1992-1997.
While new landowners bring many positive changes, farmland removed from production is not usually seen as one of them. Nearly every town in the valley, and most in Wisconsin for that matter, started as an agriculture service center for early farm families. Clearly, times are changing, and change is raising questions.
- What can we do to reverse decline in our agricultural community?
- How can we protect farmland and encourage young farmers?
- Can a non-farming population maintain the highly valued quality of life that was created by generations of farming families?
These questions are being asked not only here, but all across the country, as fewer farmers are each working more land, raising more stock and striving to balance growth and stability for their operations
As of 1997, 60 percent of the Southwest District that includes the Kickapoo was still in farming. But Jim Radke, Vernon County NRCS Agent, tells us that of the 207,000 acres of cropland in the county, only 15 percent would qualify by any of the usual conservation standards as “prime” farmland. American Farmland Trust expertise and dollars from state bond issues that have helped other areas of the nation to preserve operating farms may not be tools we can use here. But there are other alternatives and areas to explore. For instance, Michael Holton at the Center for Rural Affairs in Walthill, Nebraska writes in the CFRA newsletter of many exciting programs that are being tried there. (www.cfra.org)
Based on ideas developed in the Kickapoo Conversations, VSN would like to see the formation of a Watershed Ag Issues Committee. Composed of valley residents, especially farmers, business people and members of the financial community, this committee would work together to define common issues and to develop common solutions. The group could also provide the needed advocacy to create alternatives to Federal Farm Bill programs that do not provide much benefit to small- and mid-sized farms. Value added products, marketing alliances, ownership transitions and group health insurance could be some of the topics addressed. The urgency of this issue should be enough for farmers to put aside their historic independence and draw together to seek solutions. The many levels of benefit we can realize by preserving and protecting farming as a way of life—economic, cultural, aesthetic, environmental and more—all point to the need for individuals to work together to find a way to make it happen. To express interest in the Ag Issues group, please contact the VSN office at 637-3615.
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