LAND RICH, CASH POOR

Reisinger blends memoir and public policy analysis in this ode to America’s farmers.

Reflecting on his family’s farm in southern Wisconsin, the author emphasizes how his own experiences are part of the larger “story of the disappearing American farmer.” Since the nation’s founding, per Reisinger, “America’s identity became intertwined with the family farm.” Within less than a century, from the 1930s to today, family farming has declined by almost 70 percent. Combining a personal memoir with a broader consideration of American farming, the book’s astute analysis of public policy and economic trends highlights “a devastating hollowing out of rural America reverberating across the country,” from orange farms in Florida to dairy farms in Wisconsin to almond farms in California. Bipartisan in his critique of politicians from both sides of the political aisle, the author suggests that the decline of family farmers threatens the vitality of rural communities and the nation itself. As farms are increasingly consolidated under the umbrellas of giant corporations, they are, according to Reisinger’s well-grounded argument, more prone to disease, invasive pests, and other disasters that would have previously been isolated in smaller farms in the past. As of 2022, more than 43 million acres of farmland are owned by foreign investors who don’t live on the land they farm, which the author connects to rising “ecological decay.” While much of the book’s analysis of the current state of American farming is dire, the concluding chapter offers a multipart-plan to revitalize the industry via research and development, more competitive government policies, and the exploration of new market opportunities. While Reisinger has been associated with multiple Republican politicians (serving as a spokesman for U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Ron Johnson, for instance), this nuanced work acknowledges the policy failures of both parties and is backed by more than 180 research endnotes. Supplementing the raw data, personal anecdotes from farmers around the country make this a deeply personal volume.

A convincingly argued and often poignant take on the decline of the American farmer.