Hero's and Villains - Farmers are not the problem, they are the Solution.
- Ben Layton
- Feb 10
- 4 min read
For years, farmers have been working harder, pushing through tougher seasons, fighting to keep their farms alive.
And yet—somehow—the soil keeps getting worse. The weather keeps getting more unpredictable and the cost of everything keeps rising.
You do everything you're told is necessary. Buy more seed. Apply this amount of fertiliser. Spray this pesticide to get rid of that. Expand. Scale. Produce more.
And still—only the lucky ones see any fruit to all that labour.
That’s not bad luck. That’s a rigged system.
The corporations that sell you the chemicals, the patented seeds, and the promises of “higher yields” don’t care if you fail. They profit when your soil depletes. They profit when you depend on them. They profit when you go into debt.
And the worst part? They’re trying to convince the rest of the world that you’re the problem. That farmers are destroying the planet.
But you’re not the villain in this story, you’re the exploited. However, this is good news, because that means you are also the protagonist. All good stories have a few chapters of hardship for the main character, but then they make a hard decision, become the hero and triumph over the bad guys.
The Hardship Chapters - How they took control of your farm
They didn’t just turn up, twist your arm and make you dependent on their products. They built an entire system designed to keep you trapped. Here's the stuff the good guy has to fight through.
They Control the Inputs—And Your Profits
A handful of multinational corporations own all the seed, the fertiliser, and the rest of the chemicals. They make the rules, and you have seemingly no choice but to play the game barefoot on their home ground every year.
Patented seeds? Can’t collect them, can't save them, can’t replant them. You’re forced to buy, buy, buy every season—while they rake in billions and control your output.
Synthetic fertilisers? Cheap enough for now, but they don’t feed the soil. They deplete it. And the more your soil depletes, the more you'll need their products, reinforcing the cycle of Big Ag profits.
Government Policies Keep You on the Treadmill
Who gets the biggest subsidies? Big Ag. Not good farmers.
Industrial farming is rewarded—monocultures, overproduction, commodity crops. If you want to farm differently, you're out on
your own, there’s no safety net.
Meanwhile, the corporations that lobbied for these policies consolidate land, control the markets, and leave independent farmers with nothing.
Debt is their business model—You’re the target market
You take out loans for equipment. For land. For seed. The system makes it impossible to farm without debt.
One bad season, and you’re underwater. A drought, a flood, a market crash—suddenly, a generational family farm is just another foreclosure statistic.
And guess who buys your family's farm when you go under? Big Ag. More land for them, less freedom for farmers who've just sold their legacy for a song.
They Profit Off the Destruction of Your Soil
Industrial farming isn’t built to last. It’s built for short-term extraction—for squeezing every last ounce of productivity out of your land until there’s nothing left.
And when your soil collapses? They’ll tell you it’s your fault. That you didn’t use enough, or the correct, fertiliser. That you needed stronger pesticides. That you should take on another loan, and try one more time with their newly patented wonder chemical...
But the truth? They’ve designed it this way.
What Happens If You Don’t Fight Back?
If nothing changes, the story sucks, no one will read it and here’s where it ends:
Your soil dies. Over 30% of farmland is already degraded beyond use.
Farming becomes impossible. Extreme weather, droughts, floods— and you can’t grow anything in dead soil anyway.
All small farms disappear. More buyouts, more bankruptcies, and more land in the hands of corporations that don’t care about it, the community, or the legacy you and your family built.
The worst part of this ending? They’ll still find any way to blame you for it.
The way out, the Hero Arc—Reclaiming your land, your livelihood, and the Future
They’ve convinced you that you need them to survive.
You don’t.
The path forward isn’t more chemicals, more debt, or more land in the control of corporate overlords. It’s about taking back control.
Here’s how:
Regenerate Your Soil – Stop feeding and funding the chemical cycle. No-till farming, cover cropping, composting, and rotational grazing bring dead soil back to life—without dependence on synthetic inputs. It might cost a bit more in the short term, but a season or two down the line you'll be reaping benefits you won't know what to do with.
Break Free From Chemical Inputs – You don’t need their fertilisers. Compost, biochar, wood vinegar and other natural soil amendments build fertility without having to sign up for a forever subscription of chemicals. Rather than running off into your favourite fishing spot in the next shower, these inputs will stay put and secure the precious rain in your paddocks while the microbes get funky and multiply your profits.
Diversify and Defend – Monoculture makes you vulnerable. Integrating various livestock, planting multiple crops, and restoring biodiversity protects you from market crashes and climate extremes and helps your soil multiply your revenue even further.
Demand Policy Change – This system won’t change itself. Farmers and conservationalists alike must force it to. That means pushing for fair subsidies, real soil-focused incentives, and an end to corporate-controlled agriculture through every avenue we have access to.
Farmers are not the Problem—You are the Solution
They need you to keep playing their game. To keep buying. To keep borrowing. To keep blaming yourself when their system fails you.
But you don’t have to. Not anymore. This is the point in the story where the main character fights back.
The enemy? The corporations who told you this was the only way.
The ones who sold you the fertilisers. The patented seeds. The endless inputs. The lie that without them, you couldn't survive.
But you can. And now, you must.
It’s time to take back your land. Your independence. Your future.
Not just for yourself. Not just for your family.
But also for every other farmer who refuses to be another cog in their machine.
And for every generation that comes after you.
They will rely on the soil beneath your feet just like you do.
Without it, there’s nothing left to fight for.
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