An article came out a few months ago that illustrates the upside of farm consolidation.
With trade wars and the ever-changing market, farms are changing. The article reports in less than 100 years, the amount of farms in the U.S. has gone down 70%. The amount of small farms has risen over recent years, but that doesn’t make up for the disappearance of mid-sized farms.
The article goes on to explain in some cases, consolidating a farm and expanding is the best decision for a farmer. That’s why big farms shouldn’t get a bad reputation.
“The long history of ag consolidation has actually corresponded with increasing farm productivity and environmental efficiency,” the article reports. “Higher productivity, driven by technology adoption, remains the primary environmental benefit of farm consolidation. In the United States, yields are higher and have grown faster on large farms. And it is thanks to such yield growth that the worldwide agricultural land use per person is roughly half what it was in 1960, which has massively reduced carbon emissions and habitat loss compared to a flat-yield scenario.”
Farming technology has improved over the years as well. New technology has improved the environmental impact that farms may have.
Having a larger farm and using those technologies allows for better efficiency on the farm.
You can read more about the benefits of farming consolidation on the Breakthrough Institute website.