Farming On A Scale That Fits Jeff Rast University of Idaho Industrialization has lured many a farmer to expand his acreage and multiply his machines. Emerging technology enabled a person to farm more acres and produce more crops with fewer people. As the farms grew larger, the amount of time each farmer spent on each acre of land necessarily declined. Gradually, the steward and his land drifted farther apart. Nurture fell prey to efficiency. This drive for industrial bigness has made the American farmer the most productive in the world in terms of output per farmer. However, so fuel- hungry is our technology that this growth made the same farmer the least efficient in terms of energy used per amount of energy produced in crop biomass. Soil and land-use efficiency have likewise suffered. Ecologically, there is a point beyond which a farm can outgrow the nurturing capacity of the farmer. This point holds true sociologically as well. A safeguard of democracy is land ownership by as many people as possible. As the number of people who own farmland declines, plutocracy displaces democracy. Furthermore, such a demographic shift leads to cultural, social and economic weakening of rural communities. In pursuit of ecological, social, economic and cultural sustainability, we must return to farming on a scale that fits the needs of the land, the people and rural communities. Current Status of American Agriculture 1. Is heavily industrialized: Characterized by a focus on the systematic integration of people, materials, equipment and energy by means of a persistent emphasis on mechanization. 2. Is high gross productivity per farmer in terms of the commercial output per farmer.
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