Yes, Nancy,a lot of the old farms,as we once knew them, are gone in our area, too. I feel there are two main reasons in this area. Amish families are moving in and buying up large chunks of land,since it takes a certain amount of land to sustain their large families.You can hear all kinds of stories regarding the who and why and how the Amish folks operate in the way they do, but the one family we see most often in our area, will usually explain different things to us,if we will just ask.

It is my understanding, that a few families,will get together and seek out a large portion of land to buy, but it must be viable enough and large enough to sustain the families,to warrant them relocating. There need not be a house on the land, because they don't use all the modern day features of todays homes.If there is an existing home,they may strip the electric wiring out of it and live in it,otherwise,they will quickly construct a simple house to their liking.In this area,they have built shelter for their animals and themselves,all under one roof, until they get a foothold, and can build separate quarters.It is fasinating to watch their homesteads progress from a mere plot of land to a small community of sorts.They do bring a certain peaceful quality to the surrounding community, but with traffic moving so fast from English folks,as they call us,their safety on the highways,is a constant concern.Many families in our area and surrounding area, have come to depend on the Amish for their produce. Many families have two working members,so buying their garden needs instead of growing their own, tends to free up some of their spare time for other things.Only the folks who have gardening in their blood will till and plant and care for a garden,when they can run next door and buy,usually for a song, all the produce they could ever use.

The second reason for the demise of the family farm is the huge equipment used by the farmers who lease hundreds of acres at a time to raise enormous crops.The buildings have been leveled, and the fences and trees have been bulldozed away, to make more clear and open fields for their way of farming.Kentucky is a fertile land,with an excellent climate, during most normal years,to grow big crops for feeding the nations population and livestock.Good farm land is a rare commodity anymore,with so many communities growing and reaching out so far,so fast.