Rural Sprawl.

Guest Post - Bradley Hull

‘Go West young man’- Manifest Destiny, the idea that there is more/better land just over the horizon is a cultural tradition in America. Unfortunately that ‘destiny’ was achieved generations ago, but the idea is still ingrained in the American psyche. We hear about hundreds of thousand of acres of rain forest lost each year (the size of the state of Delaware annually), and are outrage by this misuse of resources/environmental injustice. But no one pays much attention when this type of destruction occurs right in front of them- because it is masked with the term ‘development’. We live in a system where growth is necessary. Who ever talks about equilibrium anymore?

Knox County was a quiet little rural county for generations. People grew sheep. Then cows and corn. Now soybeans. Land was cheap because farmers are poor. In the 1960’s farming families started to ‘move into town’- for some of our family that meant Fredericktown or Mount Vernon. It was unheard of to own a house in a field that was not a farm. This meant that rural areas were rural. Sometime between then and now something changed. People from the cities and the towns decided they wanted to live in the ‘country’. And thus the suburbanisation/gentrification of the farming landscape began.

Our valley contained 6 ‘farms’, or the amount of land one man could work a year successfully- as defined in the 1830’s. Our families own three of them, and in the early 1980’s the other three were purchased from the old families by a guy named Buster K. Lychan*. Now this Lychan was a farmer after a sort- actually he was a little unhinged, but he worked the land. So one day in 2002, we hear from one of the neighbours that Lychan is planning on selling up. The neighbours on three sides get together and make Buster K. an offer for the farms- with each of the families taking the acreage closest to them.

The reason we were so keen to do this is that there is about 20 acres separating the two main farms and with increasing amount of traffic on the Old Mansfield Road, it is not unheard of to be overtaken on a hill by some moron who can not wait 30 seconds while you have a load of hay on the tractor/wagon. This is obviously very dangerous for whoever is on the tractor- and there have been many close calls. (I always find it ironic that 180 years ago it was members of my family who helped cut that road through the forest.)

Well Buster K. turned down the offer because he said he wanted more money. We found out later that he had more than 2.8 million dollars worth of loans out on a little over 200 acres- that’s just insane. So the next thing we know the farms are split up and are to be auctioned off piece by piece. Initially things go well at the auction. The neighbours all get the acreage they want. But then the auctioneer pulls a fast one- because his commission is determined by percentage. Instead of accepting the bids from several families, he re-offers the whole farm as a single unit. A phone call comes in from an outside bidder and they raise the bid by $75,000. Lychan realises that something is up, and tries to make a side deal with us, but the auctioneer call the auction closed, and the sale final. Little did we know then, but the valley was well and truly lost.

The land was purchased by a company called Country Tyme. Now, let’s be clear from the outset: all realtors/developers are the lowest form of human life. But the nice folks at Country Tyme make your average Bank One/ReMax realtor look like they belong on the right hand of God. Imagine Quasimodo with a briefcase and an evil disposition. Several of our neighbours will not even speak to anyone associated with this company. In an effort to preserve as much of the valley as possible, we had a meeting with some Country Tyme representatives. We made a good offer, but they wanted 3 times more- to cover expenses they claimed. When we said it was ridiculous they effectively threatened us with whole suburban developments- up to 400 homes they smirked.

The Knox County version of Wisteria lane has not appeared yet. But the land was broken up into various lots- each sold at 15 times its actual agricultural value. More than 30 available ‘lots’. And morons from the cities have bought them up. So far we have 1 McMansion, 2 Crapshacks, and a Modular home. In place of fields that produced food, we have ramps for fourwheelers, drive ways for boats, and people, more and more people. People who will eventually have a problem with they way a cow looks at them, then sue us for having animals on a farm we’ve had since before Ohio was a state. Ah, development.

So you asked, is this just a case of NIMBY? (Not in my back yard) No- it is a single example of a growing and frankly terrifying trend in the ‘breadbasket’ of the US. The loss of agricultural land. Save your crocodile tears. Take a minute to think about food. Where did the ingredients for your frozen pizza come from? How bout that delicious frappachino? You never think about it, really. We take for it all for granted. Ask a kid where a hamburger comes from and he’ll tell you McDonald’- not a cow. Take a look at one state- Ohio:

Since 1995, more than a million acres of farmland have been converted into housing developments, strip malls, condos, etc. Almost as much land loss as rainforest loss in Brazil. The land no longer produces anything. And if you’ve ever visited one of these great new ‘communities’, I’m sure you’ll agree we need more condominiums and Wal-Marts. A day will eventually come when we won’t have enough land left to produce the ingredients for our ever increasing waistlines. Don’t worry, I sure soilent green will be available by then.

Lord of the Barnyard - *name changed so if anyone trys to google his real name they don't find this. The county of Knox is the one directly above where the word Columbus is on the map (centerish).