The U.S. has an average population density of 93 persons per

Posted on: July 21, 2024 at 07:13:29 CT

square mile, according to the article in a farm magazine I was reading this morning. That sounded a bit high to me. I thought about our northwest Missouri farm and how few people reside in our community. Of the seven square mile sections where our farm tracts are situated only four people reside within the most populated section. Several of the sections have zero population. I think there are no more than a dozen who live in all seven sections combined. There are nine currently vacant homesteads that were occupied by families when I was growing up. Diversified livestock and row crop farms were the norm and each farm raised cattle, hogs and chickens. Every family raised a large garden and many raised an additional truck patch. Now, almost all of the pastures, most trees, brush infested fence lines and ditches are gone and every section is planted in row crops. Corn and soybean fields and giant wind turbines as far as the eye can see.