Future of Midwest Farming

It is nearly impossible now to buy enough farmland to earn a living through the use of modern farm machinery. It is only really a possibility if one inherits large amounts of land or rents land from his neighbors. Farms are continuing to increase in size since it takes more farmland to earn the same standard of living as a smaller farm used to provide. Also it is difficult to keep farmland together when a death occurs and all children want an equal share of the land (Hart, 275).

In the growing village of Grass Lake, Michigan there are few farms left of significant size. What once was a place defined by its family farms, is left with subdivisions, two (fairly unnecessary) traffic lights, multiple gas stations, etc. There are no more than twenty farms or blocks of land left of significant size.

Not only are farms and farmland disappearing though, but also endangered are the architectural constructs of the Michigan pioneer families. As barns and log cabins constructed in early 19th century continue to deteriorate, so does a part of the Michigan history. It is important that we treasure the buildings that survive and protect them from destruction. The barn pictured below is an example of a rare Michigan barn of masonry construction built by German bricklayers. This barn, built sometime before 1840 was originally a horse barn. It has arched doorways, two-foot thick walls, and an overhead hayloft (Hartman 24). This barn is deteriorating slowly from enduring the Michigan weather for the past 160 years, however, remains strong after withstanding structural damage when the roof was blown off twice during storms.

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