C36—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 14,1981
Legislature will affect future of family farms
DOVER, Del. Here, as across
the nation, the future of the family
farm is receiving public attention
The structure of agriculture is
changing, points out Gerald F
Vaughn, Delaware extension
soeciahst in community and
FSSSPfce economics There is a
pronounced trend toward fewer
and larger farms, greater
specialization, in production, and
more dependence on the nonfarm
sector.
Thus, the 1980’s may be a decade
of key decisions on the family farm
survival issue
Concerns about the structure of
agriculture have both economic
and social aspects Although there
are wide differences of opinion on
the importance of changes in the
structure of agriculture, three
issues appear to have become the
focal point of concern efficiency,
control, and social values
Efficiency gams, associated with
larger and more highly integrated
farm operations, vary widely from
commodity to commodity In crop
production it is generally believed
that a single family farmer em
ploying no more than one or two
hired laborers is as efficient as
larger scale operations
However, larger farms may
have advantages in purchasing
inputs and in marketing These
advantages, plus the larger ab
solute net income associated with a
larger volume of sales, have
resulted in a continuing trend to
larger farms
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In livestock production, ef
ficiency gams are associated with
larger scale integrated production
and marketing systems Such
gams have been particularly
apparent in the poultry industry
and apparent!} exist in cattle
feeding and hog production as well
Offsetting efficiency gains
associated with large-scale far
ming are potential adverse effects
of increased concentration of land
ownership and control of
production and marketing
decisions As competitors in an
industry become fewer in number,
economic theory suggests that the
acquire market power to raise
prices
In addition, over time, added
costs may be built into large-scale
farming operations through
nonprice forms of competition,
complacency, and the lack of
strong competitive pressures
Such increased costs potentially
exist if and where agricultural
becomes highly unionized
Social concerns in the farm
structure debate revolve around
the merits of the family farm as a
cultural institution, the im
portance of land ownership as a
part of the family farm, and the
impact of fewer and larger farms
on rural communities
A California study shows that
communities dominated by highly
industrialized, integrated
agriculture and concerned land
ownership are characterized by a
lower level of economic activity,
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(Subsidiary Of The Brownstown
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Brownstown, Pa
17508
717-656-2951
fewer community services, less
participation in political activities,
and less participation in social and
religious institutions
The weight our society places on
these social considerations could
have an important impact on the
legislation Congress enacts af
fecting the future structure of
agriculture.
Within the basic structure of
American agriculture, three
trends emerge, according to
Vaughn First, a large and growing
proportion of farm families earn a
majority of their mcome from off
farm jobs The growth in off-farm
employment has been fostered by
increased availability of nonfarm
jobs in rural areas and by par
ticipation of farm wives in the
labor force
A second trend is the shift from
family farms to larger-than-family
farms and to industrialized farms
The trend to larger-than-family
farms appears to be occuring from
within agriculture as expansion
oriented farmers continue to buy
out smaller farmers
The trend to industrial farms is
more pronounced in some com
modities than in others For
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example, most of the poultry and
processed fruit and vegetable
industries have already moved to
industrial farming Steps in the
same direction are currently under
way in hog and beef feeding
Crop production agriculture
remains a stronghold of the family
farm, but even here, the question
arises If much of agriculture is
composed of larger-than-family
and-industrial farms, can family
farms survive in crop agriculture ’
Third, while a characteristic of
American agriculture has been
ownership of one’s farming
operation, an increasing
proportion of the farmers own only
a portion of the land they farm
A significant proportion of the
land that is partly owned by the
operator is held by individuals who
have retired from fanning
However, increasing nonfarm
ownership is evident
While most legislation affecting
family farmers was enacted m the
interest of family farmers, it has
often had just the opposite effect.
Policymakers at work drafting
legislation for the Food and
Agriculture Act of 1981 are con
sidering a number of alternative
54 >72 >l 5
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strategies for reversing the
declining role of family farms in
U S agriculture
For a fuller discussion of family
farm policy issues, contact Gerald
F Vaughn for Factsheet #4 of the
senes devoted to food and
agricultural policy issues for the
1980’s
The factsheet analyzes seven
family farm survival policy
alternatives that Congress may
consider, I - free market, 2 -
directing farm program benefits, 2
- taxation, 4 - antitrust and open
market maintenance, 5 - control of
entry, 6 - government services to
family farms, and 7 - family farm
cooperatives
A free copy may be obtained by
writing to Vaughn at Agricultural
Hall, University of Delaware,
Newark, DE 19711
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