THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER Small farms, large farms; family farms, corporate farms; complex or complicated: Does it matter?

Abstract

First paragraphs:

I have long been an advocate for small family farms. Does that make me biased? No more so than the vast majority of agricultural economists who advocate large industrial farms. They prioritize production and profitability. I prioritize ecological, social, and economic sustainability. We naturally reach different conclusions. They conclude that only large, industrial farms can meet the needs of a growing global population. I conclude that only small family farms can meet everyone’s needs today and leave equal or better opportunities for the future.

We also have different ideas about how to define farm size and family farms. Size cannot be captured by the single indicators, such as land used or capital invested, employee numbers, or value of production, used by economists and government agencies. A farm includes all of the financial, human, and natural resources that are planned, organized, directed, and controlled as a single management unit. Some farm resources may come from off-farm sources, such as rented land, bor­rowed money, hired labor, buildings, and machin­ery. However, once the farm manager has the authority to decide how these resources will be used, they become part of the farm management unit. . . .