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poulsbohemian 8y ago
This doesn't seem entirely accurate - Minnesota and Iowa, for example, are crawling with well-respected private liberal arts colleges. The problem historically hasn't been producing an educated population, it has been keeping them there.
- wyclif 8y ago
  It isn't accurate at all. The main reason is farming and agriculture, and the economics thereof. Kansas is dying because its biggest industry is failing.
  - jonknee 8y ago
    > Kansas is dying because its biggest industry is failing. It's not failing, they're producing more than ever. It's just automating. We've been doing that to agriculture since it was developed. Coal mining isn't too dissimilar FWIW (except it would be great to not mine it at all!), we're currently producing way more coal than when coal country was in boom times. It just uses a ton less people than it used to.
    - wyclif 8y ago
      Yes, but producing & automating != success. The article talks about how there's a surplus of wheat everywhere in KS. There are places where you can see giant mounds of three year-old wheat stored under tarps. They can't possibly sell it all (at least not at a price where it would be profitable at the moment).
      - enervate 8y ago
        Are they just sitting on it until the price goes up? Why not sell for whatever they can get and then re-invest the money?
        aerotwelve 8y ago
        If it's like corn in Iowa, yes, many just hold it and hope for the price to go up. It seems unreasonable, but commodity prices are just that low; selling at the wrong time can be worse for your bottom line than doing nothing. Especially since many farmers go into debt to pay for the initial costs of planting, fertilizing, ... You tend to see a lot more corn in storage (occasionally this is just huge piles of corn covered with a tarp!) right after harvest time, precisely because that's when the prices are the lowest. There's a surprisingly big market for huge containers that are designed to store crops for long periods of time.
- mobilefriendly 8y ago
  Kansas has more per capita college students than California.
tigeba 8y ago
Nobody in the known universe considers Topeka, KS to be part of the KC Metro area.
- Mononokay 8y ago
  Greater KC Area =/= KC Metro Area

This doesn't seem entirely accurate - Minnesota and Iowa, for example, are crawling with well-respected private liberal arts colleges. The problem historically hasn't been producing an educated population, it has been keeping them there.

wyclif 8y ago
It isn't accurate at all. The main reason is farming and agriculture, and the economics thereof. Kansas is dying because its biggest industry is failing.
- jonknee 8y ago
  > Kansas is dying because its biggest industry is failing. It's not failing, they're producing more than ever. It's just automating. We've been doing that to agriculture since it was developed. Coal mining isn't too dissimilar FWIW (except it would be great to not mine it at all!), we're currently producing way more coal than when coal country was in boom times. It just uses a ton less people than it used to.
  - wyclif 8y ago
    Yes, but producing & automating != success. The article talks about how there's a surplus of wheat everywhere in KS. There are places where you can see giant mounds of three year-old wheat stored under tarps. They can't possibly sell it all (at least not at a price where it would be profitable at the moment).
    - enervate 8y ago
      Are they just sitting on it until the price goes up? Why not sell for whatever they can get and then re-invest the money?
      - aerotwelve 8y ago
        If it's like corn in Iowa, yes, many just hold it and hope for the price to go up. It seems unreasonable, but commodity prices are just that low; selling at the wrong time can be worse for your bottom line than doing nothing. Especially since many farmers go into debt to pay for the initial costs of planting, fertilizing, ... You tend to see a lot more corn in storage (occasionally this is just huge piles of corn covered with a tarp!) right after harvest time, precisely because that's when the prices are the lowest. There's a surprisingly big market for huge containers that are designed to store crops for long periods of time.
mobilefriendly 8y ago
Kansas has more per capita college students than California.

tigeba 8y ago

Nobody in the known universe considers Topeka, KS to be part of the KC Metro area.

Mononokay 8y ago
Greater KC Area =/= KC Metro Area