Newspaper provides view on drought-year farming

Consumer publications that don’t focus on agriculture very often are all taking a stab at explaining what the drought is meaning to Midwest and Plains farmers, as well as the impact on the price of food paid by consumers.

The New York Times is no different and this week ran an article that looks at the impact of the drought, the lack of a farm bill and the cost of raising livestock or maintaining a dairy herd.

The opening two paragraphs seem to go from almost making fun of farmers as complaining about small things to trying to make the readers’ eyes fill with tears about families losing their farms. The lead two paragraphs say some farm children are “forgoing out-of-state colleges for cheaper ones close to home” or “resisting luxuries like new smartphones” or not going on a vacation. But then the writer turns and suggests some farmers are selling off land that has been part of the family farm for generations.  

“Lost amid the withered crops, dehydrated cattle and depleted ponds that have come to symbolize the country’s most widespread drought in decades has been the toll on families whose livelihoods depend on farming,” wrote John Eligon in the Times article.  

Read the article by clicking here to see one newspaper perspective of farming during one of the worst droughts on record. 

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