BIG AG
True or False?
True or False?
Commercial
Subsistence Farm
Family Farm
Large vs Small
What has made it possible for farms to get larger?
Why do we see larger farms in the United States and other countries with large, market-driving economies?
Let’s investigate…
LET'S EXPLORE SOME FARMS...
Gross Cash
Farm Income
Final Market for Commodity
Commodity Produced:
Owned by:
Place farm
profile card
here
A family farm is when the majority of a business is owned by an operator and individuals related to them by blood, marriage, or adoption.
A commodity is an agricultural product that can be bought or sold. Some farms have a single commodity and others have multiple.
A byproduct is a secondary product that is created in the process of producing something else.
A nonfamily farm is owned or operated by an individual or group of individuals who are not related.
GCFI is the sales income from commodity cash receipts, farm-related income, and Government payments.
<$350,000 per year
$350,000- $999,000
>$1,000,000
Sales revenue is used as a measure of size because it's common in many businesses and it accounts for land quality—which varies widely. It could be misleading if farm acreage was the only factor evaluated.
If the final product is kept for use by the family or individual producing it, the farm is considered a subsistence farm. They are most common in developing countries.
If the final product is sold at market for a cash exchange, it is considered a commercial farm.
Farm Profile:
Explanation Sheet
Gross Cash
Farm Income
Final Market for Commodity
Commodity Produced:
Farm Profile:
Owned by:
Evergreen Acres
The Brown family has been farming for 3 generations in Wisconsin. The farm is currently owned and operated by a father and one of his sons. They milk an average of 200 cows.
Each cow produces an average of 75 pounds of milk per day for 300 days per year. Milk sells for $20 per CWT (100 pounds) for a GCFI of $900,000.
Milk
Milk is sold to a local co-op that processes the milk and distributes through local grocery stores.
= Milk
Evergreen Acres is a mid-size commercial family dairy farm
What has made it possible for farms to get larger?
Could these farms have existed in the early 1800’s?
How about 1910?
1950?
Timeline of
Total U.S. Population:
Farmers made up
90% of the labor
force.
Total U.S. Population:
Farmers made up 12.2% of the labor force.
Total U.S. Population:
Total U.S. Population:
Farmers made up 21% of the labor
force.
Total U.S. Population:
Farmers made up
4.6% of the labor force.
2000
2000
2020
2020
3.9 million
122.7 million
151.1 million
204.3 million
287.6
million
331.5
million
1.5%
1%
Technology, Farmers, and a Growing Population
Farmer's portion of the labor force.
Timeline of
Total U.S. Population:
Farmers made up
90% of the labor
force.
Total U.S. Population:
Farmers made up 12.2% of the labor force.
Total U.S. Population:
Total U.S. Population:
Farmers made up 21% of the labor
force.
Total U.S. Population:
Farmers made up
4.6% of the labor force.
2000
2000
2020
2020
The first
cast-iron plow was patented in 1797
3.9 million
122.7 million
151.1 million
204.3 million
287.6
million
331.5
million
1.5%
1%
When WWII
ended, farms began being industrialized. Pesticides and fertilizers helped increase production.
The science of
vaccines for livestock, improved genetics, and other technologies improved agricultural production.
Bioengineering,
robotics, high-tech sensors and other technologies produce more food with less labor and more efficiency.
Tractors and
other machinery began to revolutionize agricultural production.
Technology, Farmers, and a Growing Population
Farmer's portion of the labor force.
Economies of Scale
Livestock Feed
Livestock usually eat some type of grain for all (chickens and pigs) or some (cattle and sheep) of their lives. Feed is one of the largest expenses a farm has.
A 50-pound bag of cracked corn might cost $24 which would make the corn approximately $0.48 per pound.
A semi-load of rolled corn might cost $360 per ton. $0.18 per pound.
Labor
On average, labor accounts for 14% of total farm cash expenses. Farm laborers assist in producing a product that can be marketed and sold for a cash exchange.
*Larger, newer equipment is also more efficient in fuel consumption and does more work for the same fuel cost.
1 farm worker can operate an older sickle knife swatch swather for 8 hours and swath 52 acres.
The same farm worker can operate a rotary swather (with more technological advancements) for the same 8 hours and swath 125 acres for the same labor expense.
Technology
Efficiency decreases the cost of production. Technology increases efficiency. If farmers can afford technology, their efficiency increases.
*Affordability is critical. Large farms can typically afford more technology than smaller scale farms.
Limitations
Can every farm just simply get bigger so that they can be more efficient?
What limitations do farmers have?
Summary
If we no longer had large-scale farms, what would be different?