Small Farms Support Rural Economies

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

Consolidation has been the story of agriculture over the past century. But there are still small and mid-sized family farms making a living in an industry that has largely abided by the matra “get big or get out”. A downside of this consolidation has been the toll it has taken on rural economies. Farmers like Anna Pesek have formed the FACE Ag Network to advocate for the small family farm and its importance for rural economies.

Pesek… “ Small and mid-size farms are absolutely critical to our rural economies. Our small business circulates a really fair amount of money in our local town of six hundred people. Livestock production in particular takes a lot of cash. Small livestock production direct to consumer means cash flowing through multiple small businesses. That is like money flowing to a local feed mill, one... which is one of the only remaining local feed mills around here. And, we're one of their bigger customers, even though we're a small operation. We're taking animals to multiple small butchers who are also operating storefronts, keeping people employed, offering labor opportunities.”

Pesek stressed the need for policies to support these small family farms to keep them alive in these rural economies.