  BeefTalk:
Depopulation is the Fork in the Road Where Change Meets Opposition
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
If you think accepting change is difficult, try implementing it. History
tells us those who consciously choose to move off the often-traveled straight
and narrow road are challenged. And not every adventurer survives.
Those who embrace the tried and proven are generally assured survival. Those
who study change know that changing the tide of history is no easy task. This
fact is manifested by the countless meetings these days held throughout the
Midwest to stem the out-migration of people.
Many areas are literally at another "fork in the road," trying to
deal with the problems associated with an aging and declining population. The
people from the plains of the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana are
disappearing--fast. Homes--and even churches and schools--are for sale at an
alarming rate.
Leadership is needed. Direction is needed. Answers are needed. In envisioning
that fork, we often forget that every fork has at least two prongs -- two paths.
Most times the path of least resistance is taken. For instance, instead of
resolving the need for people, technological advancements may accelerate
depopulation.
I recall a recent advertisement promoting a driverless tractor as a way to
make farming and ranching easier. Obviously, rather than address the need to
maintain population, one is left with the eerie thought of a landscape simply
run by machines. Perhaps with a flip of a switch here or tick of the lever
there, the north forty is seeded. Does this truly reflect the direction and
future the people of the region want?
Never before in the history of the region has there been such a need for
people. The pioneers endured tremendous physical hardships to settle the region.
Today, their descendants are called to preserve life here. There are no quick
fixes to reverse the exodus of people, but that should not preclude attempts to
reverse the trend. Perhaps the path of greater resistance is the better path.
The original premise under which this area of the country was settled did not
account for regional differences in potential productivity or environmental
fragility. From east to west, North Dakota presents several very different
landscapes and most definitely transcends biological communities that vary
depending on local environment and climate (what scientists call biomes).
Agricultural practices which do not recognize limitations and opportunities
for a specific biome are difficult to sustain. Production systems must be
developed in response to innovative markets while ultimately supporting prairie
communities and sustaining viable societies. In addition to producing the high
quality food for consumers, the real urban benefit from crops and forages grown
in western North Dakota may be the carbon that is stored in agricultural
systems, and the rural benefit the value of the meat produced.
Did I say meat? Did I imply forage-based systems?
Yes, meat is the harvestable product of forage-based systems. The world
population is seeking protein in the form of meat. Meeting demand for the world’s
population is a unique opportunity that a forage-based system, the less traveled
path, can respond to.
For now, the reality of depopulation still smolders in the ruins of homestead
shacks and lost towns. Some of these areas may have been overpopulated at one
time . However, as cows at the North Dakota State University Dickinson Research
Extension Center settle down at night a stone’s throw from the ghost town of
Fayette, I can’t help but wonder if maybe our forefathers took the wrong path.
Now may be our turn to develop production strategies that match conditions of
the western plains -- a more forage-based cropping system.
This system comes closer to the native plant community that was in place when
the Europeans first arrived in this region. I don’t want to be to critical of
the elders, but a production system based on cows and forage doesn’t sound
half bad. It strikes a balance between forage-based and grain-based crop and
livestock systems.
May you find all your ear tags.
Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com.
For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement
Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.COM
on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0115.
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Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2427, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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Graphic --
Population Trends of Selected N.D. Counties
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State 2020
Population 1980 2000 Population
County Rank Population Population (projected)
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Cass 1 88,247 123,138 151,651
Rolette 10 12,177 13,674 14,029
Mountrail 20 7,679 6,631 6,503
Emmons 30 5,877 4,331 3,710
Griggs 40 3,714 2,754 2,099
Golden Valley 50 2,391 1,924 1,658
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North Dakota State Data Center, North Dakota State University
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