I was very interested in this story about the Iowa farmers and their "Farm land". Although, Harry talked about the price of corn tripling and the price of soy beans doubling, he did not specify if the corn and soybeans that these farmers are growing, are Genetically Modified or not. I think it's important to know that these "Farmers" growing massive amounts (hundreds of acres, as the story tells) of one crop, such as genetically modified corn or soybeans, are actually hurting the "Good, black dirt." with their farming methods. The previous owners stated that they hoped the land they were selling, land that had been in their family for more than a century, was going to be owned by "Good stewards, good farmers." America is the only country to NOT ban Genetically modified organisms!! France found that when they banned GMO's, their honey bee population bounced back from a disorder knows as Colony Collapse Disorder. Honey bees are essential for the pollination of many important crops that humans and animals need for nutrition and food. America's honey bees are suffering from this disorder and are dying off at an unbelievable rate! Not to mention, the effect that GMO containing ingredients have on some people in the form of major food allergies, diabetes and heart disease. We're not meant to eat so much refined, processed corn. But, it's in so many of the products on the grocery store shelves and it's a down right BATTLE just to get a label on the package saying that the product contains GMO's. It's a crime what the 3 largest food companies are feeding the American public. That's right, there's only like 3 major food companies in the US. That's not the way humans are meant to EAT for NUTRITION to LIVE!!! Local food, grown sustainably, in soil that is loved and nurtured with rich ORGANIC materials is how you be a good steward of "dirt". Not spraying pesticides all over everything so you get MORE MORE MORE MORE of a crop. REAL farming means you have to sometimes sacrifice some of your crop to insects and wildlife. And having a diverse ecosystem on the farm. But, you probably won't hear any of that out of the mouth of Brian Williams. Who signs his paycheck again??? Some of his paycheck no doubt comes from the major food companies who pay the network money to advertise their poisonous "FOOD". And we all unwittingly buy it! The media is just as corrupt as the gov't and major corps. who have all the money and power in this country. If you want safe, healthy food for yourself and your family, the only way to truely get it, is to buy from LOCAL farmers in your area who grow food using sustainable, organic methods. The TRUE STEWARDS of our American soil!!!! Watch some documentaries on Netflix for more information. They are showing in-depth impacts of the American farming methods using GMO's. It's tragic and scary and it needs to change....SOON!!!!!!!

I was very interested in this story about the Iowa farmers and their "Farm land". Although, Harry talked about the price of corn tripling and the price of soy beans doubling, he did not specify if the corn and soybeans that these farmers are growing, are Genetically Modified or not. I think it's important to know that these "Farmers" growing massive amounts (hundreds of acres, as the story tells) of one crop, such as genetically modified corn or soybeans, are actually hurting the "Good, black dirt." with their farming methods. The previous owners stated that they hoped the land they were selling, land that had been in their family for more than a century, was going to be owned by "Good stewards, good farmers." America is the only country to NOT ban Genetically modified organisms!! France found that when they banned GMO's, their honey bee population bounced back from a disorder knows as Colony Collapse Disorder. Honey bees are essential for the pollination of many important crops that humans and animals need for nutrition and food. America's honey bees are suffering from this disorder and are dying off at an unbelievable rate! Not to mention, the effect that GMO containing ingredients have on some people in the form of major food allergies, diabetes and heart disease. We're not meant to eat so much refined, processed corn. But, it's in so many of the products on the grocery store shelves and it's a down right BATTLE just to get a label on the package saying that the product contains GMO's. It's a crime what the 3 largest food companies are feeding the American public. That's right, there's only like 3 major food companies in the US. That's not the way humans are meant to EAT for NUTRITION to LIVE!!! Local food, grown sustainably, in soil that is loved and nurtured with rich ORGANIC materials is how you be a good steward of "dirt". Not spraying pesticides all over everything so you get MORE MORE MORE MORE of a crop. REAL farming means you have to sometimes sacrifice some of your crop to insects and wildlife. And having a diverse ecosystem on the farm. But, you probably won't hear any of that out of the mouth of Brian Williams. Who signs his paycheck again??? Some of his paycheck no doubt comes from the major food companies who pay the network money to advertise their poisonous "FOOD". And we all unwittingly buy it! The media is just as corrupt as the gov't and major corps. who have all the money and power in this country. If you want safe, healthy food for yourself and your family, the only way to truely get it, is to buy from LOCAL farmers in your area who grow food using sustainable, organic methods. The TRUE STEWARDS of our American soil!!!! Watch some documentaries on Netflix for more information. They are showing in-depth impacts of the American farming methods using GMO's. It's tragic and scary and it needs to change....SOON!!!!!!!

I was very much interested in finding out what you had to say about the Iowa farmers,and what I heard was not how a for real farmer lives I am a cattle farmer and let me just tell you the price of grain and hay has soared so a small farmer just barely hangs on.It is real easy for the farmers who have had great-granddaddy and on down to pass the farm off to them with out a debt,why dont you show how the real farmers have to try to scruff out a living,up way before the sun comes up and in bed way after all the so called farmers are out having a big steak and dont give it a second thought where it comes from.When are the american people going to wake up and see where the Gov. is sending our grain,what has happened to feeding the american people first instead of the Iowa farmers bragging about how much they can spend on farm land.Why dont the Gov. hold out there hand and get the money these other countries owe the little farmers instead of just giving our grain to the over seas market exchange for oil. they pay up or no grain see how fast they would pay i dont think they could digest oil.Oh yea the man on the interview last night said he was having such a good time farming that goes to show he is not a for real farmer probably has a crew of employees who does his work.This was a slap in the face of all farmers in the south i know.Come and see how a real farmer has to live but i bet you want because you dont want to get dirty....

Science is to the organic food movementwhat the Bible is to the Judeo-Christian religious tradition. Some people findBiblical verses that support their pacifism while other folks use Biblepassages to justify bombing the heck out of declared enemy. You can find justabout anything you want in the Bible if you look hard enough. Similarly, thescientific community is all over the map when it comes to analyzing the valueof alternatively-produced foods. Consequently, emotions run high whenproponents of the counter-culture meet with opposition. Entire belief systemsare at stake, and people are loathe to let facts interfere with theirconvictions.

Indeed, there are few facts agreed-upon.High priests of the organic movement swear they are environmentally friendlybecause they build up the soil with their practices. Defenders of conventionalagriculture cite a proven build-up in both fertility and organic matter due tosoil testing, efficient fertilizer utilization and greater crop residues as aresult of higher yields. Organic promoters claim conventional practices causesoil erosion; modern ag defenders point out that organic production depends onexcessive tillage to control weeds, thereby making dirt on those farms morevulnerable to erosion.

You get the picture: the finger-pointingis endless. But the pattern of these arguments follows an identifiable track:Those who attack modern agriculture do so by generalizing from a set ofparticulars in a fuzzy way in order to create a level of fear-based hysteria.For example: If man-made chemicals can be dangerous in toxic waste sites thenutilizing them as pesticides in food production must leave unhealthy residuesin the plant matter we consume. If man-made fertilizers areartificially-created plant nutrients they produce crops that are somehow"unnatural" and therefore unfit for human consumption. It's not niceto mess with Mother Nature by tampering with genes in a laboratory.Cross-breeding out in the field is the only acceptable way to achieve geneticimprovement.

There are genuine religious overtoneshere: the picture food rebels paint makes it look as though we've usedtechnology to modify the Garden of Eden in an evil way rather than continuingto discover the mysteries of the world around us and putting all the elementsof creation to use for the betterment of mankind.

The primary thrust of the argument foralternatively-produced food is that modern farming must somehow lead toimpurities that are harmful. Last spring, in an attempt to get to the bottom ofthings, Newsweek Magazine sponsored a debate on the topic "Organic food ismarketing hype." John Krebs, an environmental scientist and formerchairman of Great Britain's Food Standards Agency had this to say: "As the former head of the Food StandardsAgency, I am absolutely not anti-organic. I am pro accurate information, pro healthyeating, and pro scientific analysis...What are the supposed health benefits oforganic food? Some people think it is more nutritious, that it may contain moremicronutrients, vitamins, or antioxidants that are supposed to protect us fromcancer. But when you look at all the evidence together, there is absolutely noconsistent difference. What about safety, pesticide residues? Two things:organic farmers also use pesticides. They just use a different set ofpesticides. But more important, those residues are present, when they arepresent, in such minute quantities that they are harmless, relative to thenatural chemicals in all the food you eat...In one cup of coffee there are morecarcinogens than you would get in all the pesticide residues from eatingconventionally produced or organically produced fruit and vegetables for awhole year."

By itself, that is a pretty pithystatement. But then Dennis Avery, director of the Center for Global Food Issuesfor the Hudson Institute added this: "Bruce Ames from the University of California at Berkeley, one of themost knowledgeable cancer researchers in the world, tested synthetic pesticidesand found about half of them caused cancer in rats at high doses. He wasapplauded by the organic movement. Then he started testing whether naturalcompounds caused cancer in rats at high doses. And about half of them did. Thereality is that 99.99 percent of the carcinogens you ingest are from Mother Nature...."

It's hard to argue with those guys, butpeople, now including Wal-Mart, still will. Innuendo dies hard, and since amarket has been either discovered or created, depending on your take, doubtsabout our food supply linger. The knee-jerk resistance to GMOs is particularlyunfortunate. Again, it is the process that is in question. It would have seemedmore natural, and consequently more palatable, had genetic advancements beenaccomplished with the tedious, hands-on methods Norman Borlaug used when hebred up the disease-resistant strains of wheat which saved millions fromstarvation.

Interestingly, Dr. Borlaug had this to sayabout GMOs, "There is no evidenceto indicate that biotechnology is dangerous. After all, Mother Nature has beendoing this kind of thing for God knows how long." Dr. Borlaugpassed away last year so you literally can't argue with him about that anymore.But, why would you?

The following " A modern Oath of Office ", was submitted as a letter to the Editor in the Daytona Beach News Journal, January 2nd, 2012, by Edmund Doglio, of Palm Coast Florida.

" In light of the dysfuntion of elected officials and a self-serving, corrupt and wasteful style of government, I feel it is time for a revision to the standard oath of office more in line with the hypocrisy prevailing in today's governmental bodies.

I ( insert name ), having been duly elected to public office, do solemnly swear to carry out the duties of my office in the following order of priority.

I hereby promise, first and foremost, to give my allegiance to myself and use this office to fulfill my personal agenda.

I promise to do all in my power to reward those who contributed to my election with jobs, contracts, and special favors.

I will give my utmost attention to the wants and needs of special interest groups, lobbyists, and anyone else who can further my agenda and help me accumulate personal wealth.

I will me loyal to my political party, right or wrong. I will do all that I can to carry out my party's ideology, remaining uncooperative and deceptive in dealings with the opposition party.

I will represent the people of ( state, county, or city name ) who elected me to this office and do just enough during my term to be re-elected.

I will support the politicians primary goal, which is to get elected and stay elected. I will do anything and say anything to achieve this goal.

So help me, God. "

I noted with interest that there are so many farmers doing so very well in their profession. My hat's off to them. They are an important part of America's backbone. I have only one question: How much in taxpayer subsidies do these same "rich" farmers get every year? Any businessman that can write a sizeable check is doing quite well. Is he being subsidized? If so, why? It reminds me of Chrysler and its Detroit adds on TV. Unfortunately, the model 300 has a Mexican engine, German transmission and is built in Canada. Chrysler is also subsidized. Is there a trend here?

I have the same question. How much are these farmers getting in subsidy checks each year? I live in Iowa and was astounded to see the amounts given to farmers in this area especially the big business farmers. They put parcels of land in other family members names and pull in a lot of money through subsidies. There is a website that will give you the amounts by family members. When I see them able to write checks for a million dollars I can't help but think of the small business owners who get no help to stock their shelves or bailed out if their business goes under. And I do agree that many of those writing these big checks have had their farmland handed down through generations. Many of us here live paycheck to paycheck. It is hard to see the big business farmers writing million dollar checks knowing we are footing the bill for their subsidies.

well whitney from iowa with your comment about the iowa farmers you must be one of the land buyers because if you can furnish all the beef you claim you would have to have a sizable piece of property.oh and what does Katrina have to do with farming?I guess you just couldnt find anything else to throw south well believe it or not the people who lost everything even lives would love to share some of the million dollar checks just to have a home or food so dont throw off on people who have no control of the weather,im sure they would lots rather have their family and home instead of your smart butt comment.All of us on our lazy butts i want use your trash talk,you have no idea what you are talking about,iowa is NOT the only state that produces beef where do you think all the calves come from to your feed lots so you can feed them out put steroids in them to pump up the growth so they want be on your expensive(oh sorry your corn and grain isnt expensive is it).I worked with the stockyards and vets.for years so dont try to act like i just come to this country.I know where the cattle is shipped and what happens to it before it leaves on trucks heading to IOWA.

I am an Organic grower, and I do not get all of my facts from "biased documentaries". I have done a great deal of reading on the subject of Agriculture in general. I think science has a HUGE place in Agriculture and growing food to feed people and animals. However, Monsanto and other GMO producing companies are the ones funding the research and reports! The USDA just TRUSTS what these companies say they've found with their "research". Now, that is biased! There have been studies that show that GMO's and the methods used to grow them, do harm the soil and the structure of the soil. And GMO corn and other species can pollinate with organic corn and contaminate it! Soon there won't be any REAL corn in America! And then Monsanto can sue the farmers who had the misfortune of GMO seed blowing on their property, when they save their seed! How messed up is that?!! Organic growers also know that although it is a very intense way of growing food, the yields you get from well managed organic farms (we need more of them!!) would be plenty to feed everyone. People don't know enough about these issues or more people would be demanding organic food. There is too much money involved and too much corruption. I know good farmer's never get the amount of appreciation that they deserve for feeding the people, but not all farmer's are well intentioned. And the farmer's making the big bucks are almost always the ones growing food (and animals) with GMO's. Because the yields are higher (because there is not much loss due to NATURAL pests and diseases that all play a role in the natural order of things!) So they get massive amounts of cheap, fake, corn and they pump it into animals until they're too big to walk. Then they harvest the animals before they're old enough to even contain all of the natural nutrients! I know not ALL farmers are to blame, I never said that. I love and respect my local farmers. I think some farmers need to do more research themselves, on what exactly they're growing and putting into their soil. No one can say that everything is fine with the way food has been grown in the last 30 years. Look at the rise in food allergies, diabetes and heart disease and CANCER. And the companies doing the research on GMO's are the one's producing the stuff! I don't know how anyone working for Monsanto can sleep at night. Putting patents on living things (seeds)!!! Their lobbyists no doubt paid for that bit of legislation!! The bottom line is, there needs to be MUCH more research and it should've been done before we all starting ingesting the stuff. And the media needs to report the truth, not fluffed up stories that contain no real, useful information for the American public. And why are we the only country that hasn't banned GMO's??? Just sayin'!

If the farmers are so flush, why is our government still giving out farm subsidies???

If the farmers are making so much money, why is our government still giving them farm subsidies??

I looked up the Mennenga brothers mentioned in the video. Subsidies for Mennenga Bros. from 1995-2000 totaled 423,793. Subsidies for Marlyn Mennenga from 2000-2010 totaled 571,840.78. Subsidies for Jay Mennenga from 2000-2010 totaled 571,848.64. Source of data is the farm.ewg.org website.

just one more piece of data from the same website. Connie Sue Mennenga received 214,986 from 2005-2010-her address is Wellsburg as well. Karen Kay Mennenga, married to Marlyn received 218,881.25 from 2000-2010. I know where I live the farms are divided up and other family members are named as owners including wives so they too receive subsidies. so in the case of Marlyn and Karen if i add up their subsidies from 2000-2010 they received 790,722. isn't there a follow up story here?

Molly D, thanks for sharing your research!! I tried looking them up, but didn't have the spelling right on their names. That bit of info is downright DISGUSTING! Now we can all see that them shelling out a million to buy more land was just a drop in the hat. Now, they have more land, so they can receive even more subsidy money, I guess! So glad to see where our hard-earned tax dollars are going, yet again! (SARCASM!) It makes me sick!! Wonder if Brian Williams will do a follow up story with all this info....HAHAHAHA! Yeah right! The media has no interest in reporting news/facts to the American people because they're being paid grotesque amounts of money to sugar coat and twist facts! Eww, I'm so sick to my stomach right now. Just thinking about how our gov't is paying them to produce GMO corn/etc. that is making everyone sick, fat and DEAD!

In 2010 a total of 29 countries worldwide produced and consumed GMO crops. For the last 15 years GMOs have been grown and consumed and to try an link GMOs as a source of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer is folly. Increased consumtion and lack of exercise is the main culprit to the problems mentioned. Whether the calories come from organic or conventional farming really makes no difference. A bushel of organic corn is chemicaly the same as a bushel of GMO corn, in a lab you can't distinguish between the two. It's the same as the misconseption that cane suger is good and corn sugar (fructose) is bad. It is chemicaly the same, it is the amounts ingested that cause the problems

As to the subsidy debate I can tell you that the amount I receive is around 8.5% of the federal and state income taxes that I pay. This does not take into account property taxes which amount to tens of thousands more. This is only suppostion but, I would guess that the Mennenga's might have a similar story. The next farm bill, which is due in 2012, will reduce subsidies substantialy.

With the farm population such a small part of the American population and most people generations removed from the farm it is hard for people to conceptualize the science and technology that it is going to take to feed a world that is going to grow to 11-14 billion in 2050 from its present 7 billion. Organic farming can't and won't be a large part of this equation. There simply is not enough organic compost to sustain organic production.

Perplexed One...If you picked an ear of GMO corn and an ear of heirloom variety corn and took a bite of each, you would most certainly know the difference!!! You would immediately spit out the GMO corn because of it's taste and texture. GMO corn is usually grown simply to grind it all down to produce ingredients/fillers such as high fructose corn syrup, and many, many other products that when combined with high amounts of refined sugar and/or table salt have been proven to be addictive! The corn products "fatten" up whoever eats them. That is why the same corn is fed to cows and pigs and chickens. To fatten them up, weeks before they're naturally ready to be harvested for food. They've tested the meat from animals fed GMO feed and they contain far less nutritional value than humanely, organically raised meat animals. As well as a higher rate of diseases because they walk around up to their chests in their own s**t all day. The meat has to be sanitized before it can be sold. You said, "There simply is not enough organic compost to sustain organic production." That is another untrue statement. IF LAWS were changed....(IMAGINE THAT!) and people knew the truth about where their food really comes from and what is in it, saving kitchen scraps and other "garbage" that people throw away, could be saved by municipalities and sorted and used to make massive compost piles. It's already being done!! When people talk about the issue of Organic Farming the first thing the opposition shouts is..."there won't be enough to feed everyone!!" That is ALSO, NOT TRUE. What prevents Organic farming from feeding everyone right now? Greed. If you have money, you won't be starving!! Surely there is enough money in the world to put towards advanced research for more organic pest and disease prevention techniques to be discovered. If you still think you're right, and no one can convince you otherwise, you might want to read this info, and keep reading all the info you can get your hands on if you value your health and the overall health of our planet. Copy and Pasted from this website:

There have been a number of studies that give an indication. The three quoted below have made an effort to address
that ludicrously impossible but politically potent question of what would happen if a whole country ‘ goes organic’ ?

An early study carried out at Iowa State University using a computerised linear programming model forecast that if the United States ‘ went organic’ all that countries domestic food needs would be met, but export supplies would vary from year to year (4). A study at around the same time found that in years of draught organic farms in the mid-western US states had greater resilience and hence more cropping stability (5). As a result of this and other empirical studies the United States Department of Agriculture concluded that organic farming employed best management practices for soil and water conservation (6).

A more recent study in Germany which was commissioned to provide information for the Federal Government evaluation of
‘ future frameworks’ concluded that if the whole of Germany converted to organic agriculture, domestic food requirements could be covered in spite of lower outputs “ on the basis of vegetable production” (7).

A UK study which was undertaken by the University of Aberystwyth in association with Elm Farm Research Centre came to a similar conclusion. If the UK was to convert to an organic faming system, the structure of farming would have to change dramatically but all food needs would be met. Rotational farming would be necessary which would mean a reduction in certain crops in some areas but a reintroduction in other areas. Output of Cereals, Oil Seed Rape and Sugar Beet would be significantly reduced (30%, and around 60% respectively) whereas vegetable production would increase and legumes, in particular grain legumes would have to increase by around 175% (8).

Which begs the question what on earth does one do with all these beans? Technical developments would be necessary to increase the UK varieties grown for human consumption, but this would not present an insurmountable problem. Much more home-grown protein would be available for animal feed, which would reduce the massive importation of such feed into the UK.

Those who praise the success of agricultural productivity in the UK often omit the fact that a good deal of livestock production is based on using land elsewhere. Overall, Western Europe consumes nutrients from nearly 5 times its agricultural area. Most in the form of animal feed and most going into intensive factory farming of pigs and poultry products (2).

One of the biggest changes in organically fed Britain would be the massive reduction in output of pig and poultry products. This would occur because of the feed supply and because of welfare requirements in organic standards. Indeed an important change in diet would have to be brought about in order for the UK to feed itself organically - with more vegetable protein and less meat being consumed - a diet in fact in line with recommendations made by nutritionists to prevent coronary disease and obesity.

Whilst technically there would be no overwhelming problems in feeding the UK, Europe and even the United States organically, the structure of agriculture would have to significantly change with massive implications for land access, investment, labour and skills. Which leads right back to the original contention that the question of feeding the world organically has less to do the technical ability of organic farming to produce adequate nutrients and is more about systems of distribution, markets, finance and political structures.

Much of the above has dwelt on the political and structural factors involved in ‘ feeding the world’. What are the
technical problems involved in achieving this organically?

There are no really significant ones in the developed world. Of course there is room for improvement - for example weed control techniques could be better, progress can still be made on certain disease problems such as finding more blight resistant potato varieties - but there are no technical obstacles that would prevent organic farming producing enough food in the developed world. Just as long as it is not expected to maintain the chicken at 36p per pound type of diet. The obstacles to organic farming are economic and are governed by policy. Where this is sympathetic as in Germany and Denmark, a significantly large switch from conventional to organic production can occur without major difficulty.

In resource poor countries organic farming with its emphasis on biological Nitrogen supply, on maintenance and enhancement of organic matter, and on soil and water protection, is arguably the most appropriate farming system and the most sensible approach to feeding people.

During a recent exchange we had with the Department of Agriculture in Malawi , they rightly pointed out that organic farming has little to offer intensive Maize plantations or any other capital intensive monoculture commodity production system used to trade and raise foreign exchange. Organic farming was therefore dismissed “as only good for small scale, local vegetable production”. But this is what feeds people.

It is easy to dismiss this approach as extreme and forget that the “ Dig for Victory” campaign during the war was a very important part of the British governments efforts to ensure food security and health. The garden and in particular, biologically-intensive gardens are more productive in terms of nutrients per ha than any ‘ farming’ system .

Organic farming based on locally a

adapted, intensive biological systems work extremely well and can be highly productive particular across a range of basic food crops. They are stable and relatively secure on vulnerable soils and in volatile climatic conditions due to their focus on ‘ living’ organic material which provides a buffer for soil and water. As such they are very appropriate to Southern countries. There are of course problems and in some regions pests and disease are a threat. In such cases, cropping diversity reduces the threat and spreads the risk thus ensuring stability and security. Organic farming is found and on a technical level can be seen to provide adequate food in all parts of the world. Where it does not, issues such as access to land and political problems including the role of women are often the major obstacles. Matters of power and economy, not technical issues.

I'm putting the link here....but it apparently wouldn't let me post the link...I'll try again...

Perplexed One, The difference between you receiving 8.5% in subsidies of the amount of state and federal income tax you pay and me is the 8.5% you receive and 0% I receive. I also pay property taxes. Can you tell me if crop insurance is covered or partially covered by the govt as well? i haven't looked into that but was told it is partially covered by taxpayers. I find it hard to sympathize you pay thousands in property tax when we saw those farmers writing million dollar checks for even more land. i'll sign off now. i am OK with helping out in times of disaster but when grain is high and land is worth that much an acre i think it is wrong. we have children in this country hungry everyday and elderly with little to live on so to see the million dollar farmers writing big checks with one hand and receiving tax payer dollars in the other was hard to watch. i will now leave the soapbox.