Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series examining the future of private farming in Story County. Today’s story examines the older generation’s views on farming. Thursday will look at how baby boomers view the changes in farming, and Friday will look at current college students’ expectations and apprehensions about a future in farming.

MCCALLSBURG — Between classes, work and busy social lives, many students come to Iowa State, live here for four years and rarely realize that the land surrounding them has a rich agricultural history.

They rarely get to meet people like Selmer Erickson. Selmer, a 77-year-old farmer from northern Story County, grew up on the farm where he and his wife of 54 years, Darlene live. The 160 acres are currently run by Erickson’s son, Tim, and Tim’s four sons, Brian, Jason, Chris and Adam. These five men are the fifth and sixth generations to farm the land that has been in the Erickson family since 1858.

Although the family will always be linked to the farm, it won’t be able to make a living there for long, Darlene said.

“Adam just graduated from high school and would like to just start farming, but it’s not possible,” she said. “You can’t just start off farming like you used to be able to; land and machinery are just too expensive.”

Tim Erickson, who works full time for Sauer-Danfoss Corp. in Ames, said machinery plays an important role in production agriculture.

“Our combine works well, but it was made in 1973,” Tim said. “When dad was combining our soybeans this year, the neighbor across the fence was combining his with a brand-new combine and did more in a half-hour than it took Dad to do all afternoon.”

Ask Selmer what he thinks of most farmers today, and he’ll tell you he’s nervous.

“They’re killing the land,” he said. “All the chemicals, all the fertilizer — it’s never enough. It’s like giving drugs to a drug addict.”

Harold White, an 88-year old ex-farmer who now lives in an Ames retirement community, also worries about of rural Iowa.

“I don’t like the way agriculture is going,” White said.

White, who has a library of more than 100 books and subscribes to dozens of newsletters about sustainable agriculture, said he would never think of selling his 120 acres of land, but finding renters to farm it is getting harder.

“I only rent my land to farmers who agree to farm it the way I want: in 40-acre strips of corn, beans, oats and hay. I don’t just plant the typical corn and soybeans,” White said.

Although White never farmed his acres for a living, he has always been adamant about having his land farmed the way that he wants it done.

“We get the renters we do because it is good land. But, after a couple of years, they usually get tired of it and say it is too much work to continue,” White said.

White said his neighbors who farm the land surrounding his are not huge supporters of his farming practices.

“They don’t buy it all together,” White said of the farmers.

Both Selmer and White fondly remember a time of simpler agriculture and thriving rural communities.

Selmer said he remembers the day when the McCallsburg school bus could be completely filled with only farm kids from the 360-square-acre section of land on which his farm was located.

“My family had nine kids in it, the neighbor up the road had eight, two over there, three over there,” Erickson said as he looked over the section.

“We had enough to play full-out games of baseball. Nowadays, the farms that are still around here just don’t have the kids like they used to.”

White recalls the days shortly after his retirement when his neighbors borrowed his machinery to plant his fields.

“Neighbors aren’t the same that they used to be. It’s more of every man for himself,” White said.

According to Iowa Census of Agriculture, there were 977 farms in Story County in 2002, compared with 1,248 in 1982 and 1,560 in 1964.

Mike Duffy, professor of economics in agriculture, said the reason for the decline in the number of farms in Story County is complex. One thing, however, is obvious: Agriculture is becoming dominated by larger farms with more acres.

“It’s comparable to the story of David and Goliath,” Duffy said. “The little farmers don’t often beat the big farmers. That’s why the larger farmers with more acres and more money to spend can take control over more of the land.”

Loren Book, ISU cooperative extension agent, is the Farm On coordinator for Iowa, a program that matches beginning farmers who own no land with retiring or older farmers who have no one to continue their family farm.

“We have a lot of success stories, and we have some stories that are not so successful,” Book said.

“Most of the people we try to place with farms that are already developed are in their early 30s — people that miss farming and a rural lifestyle.”

Selmer said he agrees that the farm is a one-of-a-kind place to live and grow up.

“In those days, we hadn’t heard about dope or porno, and we read the Bible on Sunday,” he said.

“Going to Story City and getting 25 cents would get an ice cream cone, a ride on the merry-go-round and some fire crackers.

“Life back then was simple.”