Friday, December 20, 2013
Agriculture Group Semester Conclusion
Scale of Farming in Sarpy County
In figure 1, the square mile is divided into a quarter which is what the typical farmer farms. Initially this square mile grid, or the Jeffersonian grid, was set up to divide land and encourage settlement. The mile grid is broken down further into more manageable plots of land called the quarter. Each quarter is composed of 160 Acres. To relate to additional graphics and research, 1 acre is displayed on the bottom left. Many statistics, as well as residential figures, reference 1 acre. To the right of the one acre diagram is the average farm size. 296 acres make of the average size farm in Sarpy County. This diagram aims to contextualize the scale of residential development and farmland.
In figure 2, revenues generated from farming and housing is shown. On the left side of the diagram, Lake Ridge, Settler’s Creek, and Walnut Creek are represented with the amount of tax revenue each generates with respect to the acre. Lake Ridge is a low density development which can be seen to the low tax revenue generated. Settler’s Creek has a medium density, and therefore generates moderate tax revenue. Walnut Creek generates the most tax revenue almost doubling the revenue generated from a medium density development. Each development is located within Sarpy County. Crops are also represented in the diagram. Both typical and experimental crops are represented in the red bars. Hops have the highest earning potential, but due to high startup costs and extensive methodologies to be learned, hops production is not popular
within the region. According to the United States government, the average farm pays 442$ an acre for operating cost which is slightly higher than the average income generated from corn production. With an additional 60$ an acre in government subsidies, a farmer can almost break even. This trend suggests a need for revision in the current farming model.
During an interview with Kevin Keyes, a Sarpy County farmer, $20,000 per acre was what an acre could be sold for in the development realm. Using the average size of a Sarpy County farm, 296 acres, and the price a farmer could sell his land for would be $5,920,000. The sale value of the 296 acres was then compared to the value of crops commonly found in Sarpy County, corn, soybeans and sunflowers, and one experimental crop, hops. If a farmer chose to continue farming the land it would take generations, up to 94 years, to make $5.92 million dollars.
In figure 3, the graph shows the comparison between selling the land and farming it. Selling the land would produce $20,000 per acre, shown by the green line across the bottom of the graph. The width of the line represents the $20,000 and the height of the line represents the time it would take to reach $5.92 million dollars. Selling the land could happen in 1 year, so the $5.92 million dollars would be reached in one year. However, compare this with corn at $391 per acre, shown by the width of the bar. The time it would take to make $5.92 million, if a farmer produced corn only, would be 51 years, shown by the height. Growing sunflowers creates a similar bar but slightly taller
with 52 years and slightly thinner because of the $385 per acre. Soybeans would take a farmer the longest to reach $5.92 million, with 94 years.
Hops are an emerging crop in Nebraska, and other places. Hops was chosen as an alternative crop because of its initial presence in Nebraska, as well as local breweries choosing to buy hops from local farmers instead of paying for the hops to be trucked in from farther away farms such as Washington State. Hops produce around $10,859 per acre, shown on the graph with the red bar just above the green bar. It would take an average sized farm 1.84 years to produce $5.92 million. The 1.84 years is shown, again, by the height of the red bar.
There are further considerations that need to be taken into account with farming. The most prominent of these considerations are cost to maintain the crop, sustainable farming practices, and harvesting the crop. Maintenance, pesticides, additive nutrients for the soil, and harvesting cost are other operation costs that go into farming. This graph doesn’t display these costs, but, naturally, it does affect the profits of the crops.
In figure 4, the Revenue Generated from Subsidies Diagram, the amount of people receiving subsidies is surprisingly low. According to the USDA, 27 percent of farming in Nebraska did not collect subsidy payments which can be seen on the far left. Ten percent of farmers collected 69 percent of all subsidies as seen on the very far right. The top 10% who collected subsidies collected 17,838$ in subsidies while the bottom
80% only collected 513$ annually. Subsidies have been established as essential methods to keep farming afloat in the region where grain prices are low. Crop insurance is becoming more popular as the need for subsidies in an event of a natural disaster increases and the margin for profit shrinks.
Farmers don’t always choose to sell all of their land at once. For example, a farmer may own one square mile of farming land, but choose to sell half of it and keep farming the other half of it. In figure 5 a scenario was investigated of one square mile being divided up into 60% development and 40% farmland. This would create 384 acres of developed land and 256 acres of farmland. The 256 acres of farmland would be comparable to the average Sarpy County farm. The 60-40 scenario would allow for developers to have their land and be able to generate revenue from the home owners while the farmers can still generate their crops. The 60-40 scenario can also be used at a smaller scale if the farmer owns less land than the average; it can still be divided up with this scenario.
The breakdown of three case studies are shown; Lakeridge Estates, Settlers’ Creek and Walnut Creek. The densities are low, medium and high respectively. The columns to the right in figure 5 break down how much revenue and produce would be generated. The center column shows if 60% was the development, at current tax rates, and how much the 40% would generate if farmed with hops. The low and medium densities are
around the same amount of taxes collected as the farming of hops. Walnut Creek creates a significant amount more tax revenue than the 40% hops, but the farmer is able to farm on the land as opposed to selling all of it.
The far left column in figure 5 looks at splitting the farm land in two and farming 20% hops and 20% corn, each with 128 acres. This scenario generates much less than the square mile being developed and less than the 40% hops. However, this model may be closer to the ideal farming model. Also, this may be a step towards a more viable option due to the height of hops plants is up to 18’, and the trellis system that needs to be in place for them to grow.
The growth and development of Sarpy County seems to be inevitable. The farmers in the area are facing an increased pressure to sell their land and stop farming. Dividing the land in a 60-40 fashion not only generates taxes from the developments, but it also allows farmers to take advantage of the benefits of the soils in Sarpy County. It may not generate as much revenue, but this strategy does provide environments that may be more appealing to residents.
The developments were looked at through a different lens with figure 6. Instead of just dividing the land to 40%-60%, the farming takes into account the density of the neighborhoods. Since the areas around Shadow Creek have been developed into
residential neighborhoods it is important to work within the existing lots to find opportunities. With Lakeridge Estates the lots are large, averaging around ¾ of an acre per house. In this development, it would be possible to shrink the lot sizes down and have central farming. Also with a creek as a boundary, houses have been set back, so the land may lend itself to farming. A rough estimation put the total farmable land at 190 acres. The available farmland within Lakeridge Estates is slightly larger compared to 140 acres in Settlers creek and 91 acres in Walnut Creek.
In figure 6, Settler’s Creek may be able to be farmed easier because of the available adjacent lots. Another characteristic of Settler’s Creek are the creeks that run through the development, as the name suggests. The houses here are on smaller lots than Lakeridge Estates, but the development, concerning lots, is not as developed as Lakeridge Estates or Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek has the highest density of housing, with around ¼ of an acre per house, and it is almost completely developed. Walnut Creek lots are the smallest of the three. Smaller dense lots make integrating farming more difficult when the development is planned and farm land is superimposed on top. The most opportune areas for farming, on a small scale, are located on undeveloped land. However, similar with the other neighborhoods, the current land use was not taken into account. The area designated as a possibility to be farmed, may be park land or school land. These areas may not be prime areas to farm.
The maps in figure 6 show a different approach that could be taken to allowing neighborhoods to become more aware and responsible for their produce, or the farmer
and the developers could start with integrating farming into the design of the development and the farmer could then see the produce to local businesses. It would require collaboration between a few parties, but the neighborhoods would not be the only beneficiary of the outcome.
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