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My optometrist is both professional and polite. And like most eye doctors, she relies on "Is it about the same?" "A little better?" or "A little worse?" when flipping through possible lens candidates.

I decided to utilize the same approach in this column about the relative virtues of area ag past and present. If you think I've missed one, please drop me a line. And please remember that space limitations mean I can't address as much as I'd like to.

For what it's worth, here's my list.

Farms keep getting bigger and fewer, relentlessly cutting into the number of small-town ag businesses and residents. Small-town schools have taken a pounding, too. And finding local residents to hang out with can be difficult; sometimes even Farmers Union and Farm Bureau members end up socializing! More seriously, it's definitely harder to find folks with whom to shop, worship, socialize and educate children close to home. Fortunately, modern vehicles are more reliable and, I think, modern roads on balance are better. And some former farmers left their farms to concentrate on jobs that pay better and offer more stability; people aren't necessarily happier as farmers.

Verdict. Despite the positives, small-town social factors on balance are worse.

This is a tough one to evaluate. Yeah, bigger and fewer farms have contributed to the social woes mentioned above, and I'm always a bit disconcerted by the size of today's giant farms. My former Agweek colleague, the ever staunch Mikkel Pates, wrote more often and better about monster farms than I did.

But it's impossible to honestly discount the virtues of bigger farms. The trend puts more farmland under the control of really good farmers and provides the economies of scale that allow them to buy better inputs and more precision ag equipment, helping to push up modern yields. Not all big farmers are successful over time; their egos, inflated by past success, can lead to poor decisions. And many small- and mid-sized farmers continue to demonstrate their fine skills.

Verdict: It's not a slam-dunk, but current economics provide an advantage.

U.S. ag has benefited from what has been a long-term trend toward freer trade. Most area farmers are better off today as a result. Yes, some sectors of our economy are doing worse because of freer trade. Donald Trump's promise to "Make America Great Again" would help some businesses. But, overall, it would "Make Ag Weaker Again."

Verdict: Definite advantage today.

In the past, women generally worked long and hard in traditional on-farm and in-home roles. In modern ag, they have far more opportunities to pursue professional careers. That's a good thing.

Verdict: Much better today.

Priorities vary, of course, and some intelligent and thoughtful people disagree with me. But it's clear to me that today's farming is better than ag of the past, though I'm leery of the "Make America Great Again" rhetoric. It's dangerous nonsense that can hurt modern ag and make it "a little bit worse."

Jonathan Knutson is a former Agweek reporter. He grew up on a farm and spent his career covering agriculture. He can be reached at packerfanknutson@gmail.com.