Preserving a heritage: Farm families struggle to save lifestyle

Don and Jody Breding have more than just money on the line if they fail at farming.

Sitting in their Pleasant Valley office with a picture of their grandfather on the wall, they say they’ve got too much family pride not to farm.

Editor’s Note: The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released preliminary results of the 2002 Census of Agriculture. The Journal looked at farming today through the eyes of three people who typify the changing face of agriculture.

By Emily Jones – Journal Writer

http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2004/03/07/news/local/news01.txt

The Bredings’ great-grandfather came from Pendleton, Ore., and homesteaded in Pleasant Valley, along with a few other farmers, some of whose families still farm there today.

Hardy Breding came to the United States from Germany as a child. As an adult, he farmed in Pendleton before homesteading in Pleasant Valley in 1912.

He and his wife, Edith, received 320 acres. Some had been planted before, but on much of the land, Breding had to clear sagebrush "as tall as a man" using only the farming implements of the day.

"It would be daunting today," Ralph Breding says. "The pioneering spirit was strong then."

Today, the Bredings farm about 5,000 acres, some they own and some they rent.

With each generation, the Bredings have expanded and improved the farm. As Don and Jody slowly take over day-to-day operations from their father, who is now semiretired, they don’t want to be the generation that loses it.
Taped to the side of Don Breding’s desk is a drawing by his son, Taylor.

"They took the ground out of the brush," he says. "There’s a lot of pride I feel, just being able to be a Breding and continue what four generations have done," he says.

On the wall of the shop at the farm is a picture of Ralph and Don Breding with their tractor. In the corner of the frame is a small black-and-white photo of Ralph’s father, Gilbert, with Hardy Breding and their first tractor.

As the Breding men have retired, the farm has been passed down, first from Hardy to Gilbert, then to Ralph. Ralph still owns the operations, but he has turned over day-to-day operations to his sons.

"That’s basically how it works," Ralph says. "It’s kind of the passing of the baton. They like to bounce a few ideas off the gray head every once in awhile."

As the operation has grown, Ralph has had to hire more people. But, like most American farmers, day-to-day operations and decisions are still left mostly to family. He’s worked with his uncle, father-in-law and father, among others.

Keeping operations in the family makes things run a little smoother, Ralph says.

"They have an inbred interest in the farm because it’s family," he says.

Bredings’ neighbor is Jim Tiede, chairman of the U.S. Potato Board. He owns the farm next door that his family has also operated for generations.

"Most of these are family farms. They’ve been in the family for generations," Tiede says. "It’s the lifestyle. It’s still a great place to raise a family."

Tiede is glad that agriculture is not run by corporations. In Pleasantview, farmers take care of each other. If someone is behind schedule, or a piece of equipment breaks, neighbors chip in and help each other, he says.

"Wal-Mart would never go help Kmart out," he says.

Still, profit margins are small in agriculture. And family farms must expand to stay alive.

It’s the part of the business the Bredings find difficult.

The key to survival is to expand enough to buy things like fertilizer and other essentials in bulk, and to add more pieces to the operation so the crops that leave them are as close to the finished product as possible.

The Bredings work with other growers to secure good prices on farming necessities, and they both grow and ship their potatoes.

"There isn’t enough (profit) margin to just grow it and sell it anymore," Ralph says.

They also worry about the international market. Idaho growers must now compete with Canadian growers, who benefit from a good exchange rate.

Processing plants have also left the U.S. for Canada, and the U.S. now imports 22 pounds of potatoes from Canada for every 2 pounds they export, Ralph says.

Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets have also had an effect on the potato industry, Ralph says. Supplies are fairly low this year, which should indicate a rise in prices, but Ralph says prices are not as high as they should be.

"It has had a profound effect on potatoes in this country," he says.

The farm has survived, however, and in many ways the Bredings are an anomaly.

Both nationally and in Idaho, the average age of farmers has risen for the past 25 years, as children have left the farm and began other careers.

Dale Michaelson owns a farm near American Falls with his three brothers. His son works in Nampa as a forklift mechanic, and probably won’t come back to the farm.

"He just wanted to be able to go home at 5 p.m. and forget about work," Michaelson says.

Michaelson doesn’t blame him. Increasing costs have made it harder to farm, he says.

If a recent request by Idaho Power goes through, Michaelson estimates it will cost him about $46,000, enough to put him under.

"It’s something I used to love to do. Now it’s getting harder and harder to come to work every day," he says. "He’s very, very fortunate to be doing what he’s doing."

Ralph Breding still enjoys farming, despite the hardships. It’s in his blood.

"It’s our nature. It’s our heritage," he says. "The weather deals with your crops and the government deals with your crops, but there’s a risk-reward ratio. You know that if everything goes well, you can make a go of it."

Ralph says there was a short time when he was a teenager that he wasn’t sure he wanted to farm. It’s something many rural teens go through, he says.

"It’s just work. It’s a dusty job and you don’t know if your crops will pay off, and you’ve seen your dad upset," he says. "You see the grief on their faces when their crops are devastated by hail, or when they’re burned with no rain. But you also see when there is a good crop and they walk through the field and check the maturity (of the crops) and you see their faces then."

The quality of life on a farm can’t be beat, Ralph says. People in the city buy little pieces of land in the country just for a taste of it.

"There’s a quietness. There’s a certain independence. It’s a good way to raise kids," he says.

Ralph hopes the farm continues with his grandson, but his sons aren’t completely sure.

In the farming business today, they say that it’s impossible to see more than five years into the future.

Ralph says that’s pretty much the way it’s always been. When his grandfather homesteaded, there were others who couldn’t handle farming and disappeared within a few years.

"Those people hoped they’d be there all their lives, and they didn’t make it," he says.

Technology has changed farming, but there are basic pieces of advice that have stayed the same through all the generations, Ralph says. It’s the basic business values that Ralph hopes to pass on to his sons and grandson.

"My dad gave me philosophies and business attitudes that still work today," he says. "Those common philosophies, they work forever."

2002 Census of Agriculture

– Nationally, 90 percent of farms are still family-owned, rather than corporate. In Idaho, 88.1 percent of farms are still family-owned.

– Many farmers have other jobs in addition to their farms. In Idaho, nearly 45 percent of farm operators have main jobs off the farm. Nationally, more than 42 percent of farm operators have main jobs off the farm.

– More women own or run farms or ranches. In Idaho, 26.6 percent more women operated farms or ranches in 2002 than in 1997. Nationally, the number of female farm owners and principal operators increased 12.6 percent.

– Agricultural producers are

getting older. Nationally, the average age of farmers and ranchers was 55.3 years old in 2002, compared to 54 in 1997, adding to a 25 year upward trend.

In Idaho, the average ages jumped from 52.8 years old in 1997 to 54 years old in 2002.

To view the report online, visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/census.

Copyright © 2004 Pocatello Idaho State Journal
P O Box 431 Pocatello, ID 83204-0431