Opinion: In American Agriculture, Size Matters

Small Farmers Struggle as Consolidation Threatens Sustainable Development Goals

Small farmers are struggling. For decades, they’ve been told to “get big or get out,” an imperative levied against them by both public and private forces. 

Decline of Small Farms

1. Recent statistics on American agriculture reveal a decline of 200,000 farms between 2007 and 2022. Since 1935, we’ve seen a decrease of 4.8 million farms—to 2 million from 6.8 million. As agriculture has industrialized and become more capital-intensive, leading to dominance by wealthy, large-scale producers, much of the decline has come at the expense of small and midsized farmers.
2. This phenomenon isn’t just happening in the United States. New research published in Nature Sustainability projects that, if trends continue, the number of farms across the world will be sliced in half by the end of the 21st century as consolidation of land, wealth and power reshapes our farming and food landscape. 

Consequences of Consolidation

• The marginalization of smaller-scale farms has severe consequences. When farms are continually consolidated—when there is one 5,000-acre farm in a community, for example, instead of 50 100-acre farms—fewer people remain in rural areas. That decreased population leads to social and economic impacts, with ripple effects that harm small businesses, school systems and other community institutions. 
• It’s even worse when the owners of large-scale farms don’t live in or meaningfully contribute to the community. Recognizing the value of farmland and the fact that, as a popular phrase goes, “they’re not making any more land,” investors are buying up agricultural acreage. These investors vary from agri-business “farmers” who manage operations from far-away offices to private equity firms. Their deep pockets price out new and underserved farmers looking to purchase land and root into a community. Data shows that land access is the biggest challenge faced by aspiring next-generation agrarians.

Environmental and Agricultural Impacts

• Environmental and agricultural impacts loom, too. Small farms tend to be more diversified than large-scale operations. That diversity supports healthier wildlife habitat, improved soil health and greater climate resiliency. These farms are essential for food security and local and regional food systems, where products grown in a community can stay in that community rather than being shipped across the country. While we’re all tired of talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, we should remember the importance of these smaller farms and local markets when the industrial food system couldn’t stock grocery store shelves.

Disconnect with the Land

• If we dig deeper, another less obvious threat emerges from the consolidation of American agriculture: a growing disconnect with the land itself. Smaller-scale farmers often have an intimate awareness of their place. Their landscapes are small enough to know and close enough to touch, leading to an “eyes-to-acres” ratio, as conservationist Wes Jackson calls it, that enables attention and care. 

Supporting Small Farms

• Yet, we must do more than learn from these farmers. We also need to support them. 
• We can leverage love for the land into strategies and policies that support right-sized farming, rural communities and the environment—which in turn helps us all. One such way to yield progress is through the creation of an Office of Small Farms within the United States Department of Agriculture. Too often, federal farm programs take a “one-size-fits-all” approach that simply doesn’t work for many farmers. With a federal office focused exclusively on assisting America’s small farms, we can help these essential people and places get the resources, technical assistance and information they need. 

Brooks Lamb is the author of Love for the Land: Lessons from Farmers Who Persist in Place (Yale Univ. Press, 2023). He also works as the land protection and access specialist at American Farmland Trust. Brooks grew up on a small family farm in rural Tennessee.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger

   • Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists, and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets, and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.
   • Indicator 2.3.1: Volume of production per labor unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size.
   • Indicator 2.3.2: Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status.

2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • Target 11.3: By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.
   • Indicator 11.3.1: Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate.
   • Indicator 11.3.2: Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically.

3. SDG 15: Life on Land

   • Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
   • Indicator 15.1.1: Forest area as a proportion of total land area.
   • Indicator 15.1.2: Proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity that are covered by protected areas, by ecosystem type.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The issues highlighted in the article are connected to the following SDGs:

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 15: Life on Land

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

The specific targets identified based on the article’s content are:

• Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers.
• Target 11.3: By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.
• Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets are:

• Indicator 2.3.1: Volume of production per labor unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size.
• Indicator 2.3.2: Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status.
• Indicator 11.3.1: Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate.
• Indicator 11.3.2: Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically.
• Indicator 15.1.1: Forest area as a proportion of total land area.
• Indicator 15.1.2: Proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity that are covered by protected areas, by ecosystem type.

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: modernfarmer.com

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