1. Losing the Family Farm
Callie Rogers
Jordan Holmes
Ashley Bunch

2. Family Farm
Industrial Farm

3. What is a Family Farm 2.4% of population Family owns most of land
Majority of labor is from family
Open Market System
Typically managed within the family

4. The Facts

5. Losing the Farm Number of farms decreasing while acreage increasing
Decline from 7 million farms to 2 million over 70 years
750, 000 farms lost since 1981
Translates to 1 million lost jobs

8. Losing the Farm
Rate of self-employment in agriculture decreasing

9. Losing the Farm
GNP rose 40 fold, Private Domestic Product fell from 35% to 5.8%
2 ½% of nations total farms account for 40% of crop market
Farmers comprise 2% of work force
21% of workforce in the 1930s
Over half of family farms have an off farm income

10. Why This is Happening

11. Why the Trend? Financial Incentives
Farm program benefits favor larger farms
Tax Rules
Lack of access to markets

12. Why the Trend? Legislation 1985 “Economic Emergency” Loans
Due to farm debt crisis
Loaned to big investors
Many not collected
1987 Proposal to cut Agricultural Spending
1990 Farm Bill
Raise land requirements for payment

13. Why the Trend? Unable to attract new investors
Average age of farmer risen to 54
Initial costs around $200,000
Inflation of land price
Equipment costs

14. Costs on the Rise

15. Why the Trend? Industrialization Vertically Integrated
Corporations involved in more than one step of production
Cargill, ConAgra
Trend toward “bigness”
Large field equipment used
Large acreage

16. Why the Trend? Income offset by inflation
Nominal net income growth is extremely low when inflation is adjusted
In 1983, nominal net income of farmers was equal to that of the Great Depression

17. Effects of inflation

18. In 1980 a farmer received $.37 of every consumer dollar spent on food
Today a farmer receives $.20 of every consumer dollar spent on food

19. Why the Trend? New Generation Selling off of family farm
Trend to move from rural area to city

20. Why the Trend? Family Farmer Mentality
“Non-instinct for self preservation”
Concentration on individual farms rather than industry as a whole
Tax concessions

21. The Importance of the Family Farm

22. The Importance of the Family Farm
Job Opportunities
Large corporations create 9.44 jobs, displace 27.97
Productivity between large and small farms comparable
Possible Conservation opportunity
Thought that family farmers might preserve land for future generations

23. The Importance of the Family Farm
Importance to Rural Communities
Economic
Buy supplies from local vendors
Sell to local market
Large number of communities depend on farming
Majority of counties in Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas (277 counties) depend on farming
Decrease in farming has led to increased poverty
Reduction in the middle class

24. The Importance of the Family Farm
Importance to Rural Communities
Social Conditions
Better quality of life
Decrease in crime
Better education
Stronger Emphasis on family

25. The Importance of the Family Farm
Productivity of Large vs. Small Farms
“Small family farms are at least as efficient as larger operations. In fact, there is evidence of diseconomies of scale as farm size increase.”
--Willis Peterson, University of Minnesota analyst

26. The Importance of the Family Farms
Methods for Better Productivity on Small Farms
Crop Diversification
Border Cropping
Major crop in fields
Minor crop on borders
Sequential
Short duration crops grown in between trees
Crop Rotation
Vary use of the land
Diversification-reduce risks of crop failure, more adapted to small farms, hard to manage with heavy machinery
Sequential-crops grown in succession in lines between trees (legumes or oilseeds in particular)-especially used in marginal or dry lands
Crop rotation-many small farmers mix livestock with crops thereby replenishing nutrients
Border cropping-major crop in fields, minor crop on borders

27. The Importance of the Family Farm
Methods used on large farms
Monoculture
Same crop grown all seasons
Easier to manage with heavy machinery
Irrigation system is essential

28. The Importance of the Family Farm
Problems of monoculture systems
Empty “niche” spaces
Prone to weed infestation
Prone to soil erosion
Inefficient
More soil surface is covered and the less intense the tillage the less soil detachment

29. The Importance of the Family Farm
Productivity of Large vs. Small Farms
Total Output vs. Yield
Why the productivity of large and small farms are comparable
Yield per unit area of one crop greater in large farms
Total yield per unit area usually greater in small farms

30. Yield Per Unit Area
Yield of certain crop greater as acreage increases

31. Total Output
Median Farm Size Category (Acres)
Average Gross Output ($/Acre)
Average Net Output ($/Acre) 4
7424
1400 27
1050
139 58
552 82
396 60
116
322 53
158
299 55
198
269
238
274 56
359
270 54
694
249 51
1364
191 39
6709 63 12
Must look at total output/acre to get accurate account
Small farms have diversity of crops and utilize empty niche places unused by monoculture systems
Source: U.S. Agricultural Census, vol. 1, part 51, pp , 1992.

32. The Importance of the Family Farm
Specialty Products
Gives small farmers advantage
High quality produce
Rare products
Out of season produce
Fenugreek
Elderberries
Dill

33. What is Being Done?

34. What is Being Done? Need for Government support
Direct payment amounts to half of net farm income
Enforce anti-trust laws to increase competitiveness
Increase of trade barriers
Income safety nets

35. What is Being Done? National Family Farm Coalition
Coalition of Rural Farmers
33 states
Work to preserve family farm
Proposal in 2001 to “restore and maintain profitability on America’s family farms and ranches” to congress
National Farmer’s Union

36. What is Being Done? Efforts to increase productivity Better education
30% of family farmers now have college education
Improved technology
GPS (Global Positioning System)

37. Projections for the Future
If current trends continue, America’s Family Farms will vanish
25% decrease over 13 years
In order to reverse trends, government action must be taken
Without proper action, the agricultural market will be dominated by a few large corporate farms

38. Bibliography
Farm Web. ICRP Discussion Points: Family Farms vs. Hog Factories Mar <
Hassebrook, Chuck. “Saving the Family Farm; Family Farming is in the Public Interest and if We are to Save it, We Must Act Now” Forum for Applied Research and Policy. Sept. 1, W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 28 Mar
<
Humphrey, Shirley and Eric Mussen. Small Farm Handbook. Oakland: U of California, 1994.
Rosset, Peter M. “The Multiple Functions and Benefits of Small Farm Agriculture” Global Trade Negotiations Sept Food First Mar <

39. Bibliography
Size, Structure, and the Changing Face of American Agriculture. Ed. Arne Hallam. Boulder: Westview Press, 1993
Tweeten, Luther, et al. Structure of Agriculture and Information Needs Regarding Small Farms. Washington: National Rural Center,
United States Department of Agriculture. A Time to Act. Jan Mar <
University of Missouri Extension. Does the Family Farm Really Matter? October Mar. 2004
< 20.htm>.