Big ag book reveals the nail in coffin for small farms

While reading Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America by Blooming Prairie native Sonja Trom Eayrs, I reflected on my hometown of Hayfield, where I grew up in the 50s and 60s. Sonja Trom Eayrs’ book provides an insider’s perspective on how corporate farming practices have led to the decline of many family farms and affected towns like Hayfield and Blooming Prairie.
The author’s insight into farming comes from her upbringing on a family farm near Blooming Prairie, and my understanding of small-town Main Street stems from my time at Peterson’s Supermarket in Hayfield, my parents’ grocery store which contributed to a vibrant Main Street from the ‘50s to the late ‘70s.
During those years, every Friday night was special, the only night that the stores in town were open after 6 p.m., with Main Street crowded with shoppers, the majority being farm families. Kids could go to a movie and parents could buy their groceries at Peterson Super Market or Lohn’s Red Owl, or shop at dozens of other businesses: Wall Hardware, Demmer Implement, Senjem Appliance, Orning’s Caf?, Oyens Bakery, Citizens State Bank, two appliance stores, a furniture store, a Ford Dealership, and a pharmacy,
Fast forward to today, with Hayfield and most other small towns in Dodge County and across the country hosting mostly vacant Main Street buildings, and, of course, the ever-present Dollar General Store, another monument to the corporate takeover of rural communities. As farm families declined in number, business owners had to close their places of business, which were no longer sustainable.
The author of Dodge County Incorporated details how, starting in 1993 and continuing into the 2000s, the corporate pork industry took over family farms and introduced mass production practices that have impacted the quality of life in rural communities, both environmentally and economically. The book also addresses the political decisions favoring corporations over individual farmers. Political entities at the township, county, state, and federal levels have willingly sold out to corporations and their methods for producing grain and livestock.
Despite the damage already done to rural communities, it is still possible to save what is left of our small towns and surrounding farms. Reading Dodge County, Incorporated can help you start becoming active. Another way is to participate in local organizations focused on preserving family farms and protecting local institutions like public schools. Already there are presidential orders and other Minnesota legislative proposals to redirect public funds to private schools, which would impact rural communities negatively by weakening or eliminating traditional public schools. Opposing these short-sighted proposals is fundamental to preserving the vitality of rural communities.
It is important to address the influence of private corporations aiming to maximize profits at the expense of small-town dynamics. Sonja Trom Eayrs’ book, Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America, highlights the changes and invites readers to consider actions to support rural communities. It is the single most important work to be written about life in Dodge County.
 
Dave Peterson is a retired Minnesota educator who lives in Bloomington. He graduated from Hayfield High School in 1965.