IATP Hog Report - Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Section 1
that it would take nine 300-sow hog farms to generate the equivalent local
tax benefits of one large 3,400-sow operation, Thompson and Haskins
point out that the flip side of this claim, regarding the apparent efficiency
of factory hog farms, is that nine smaller farms could generate the same
tax benefits with fewer (2,700) sows than the larger operation. 83
Concentration in animal agriculture is continuing, nearly unabated, and
often aided by the very institutions that are supposed to protect the public
against corporate power and abuses. The continuing loss of independent
family farmers has far-reaching impacts on us all. We have yet to
comprehend what the ongoing concentration of ownership of the basic
factors of production, in the hands of fewer and more powerful corporate
entities, will mean for the future of democracy and personal liberty.
In January 1998, the report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National
Commission on Small Farms expressed urgency about the choice before
us: 84
The dominant trend is a few, large, vertically integrated
firms controlling the majority of food and fiber products in
an increasingly global processing and distribution system.
If we do not act now, we will no longer have a choice
about the kind of agriculture we desire as a Nation.
Some Strategies and Action Alternatives Supportive of
Independent Family Farmers
1. Support research and development of production systems and
technologies that are appropriate for the size and scale of
independent family farmers and consistent with their values.
Rationale: The technologies being developed today are not size
neutral with respect to substitution of capital for labor, with the
result that independent farmers can get in over their heads and
carry huge debt loads if they adopt them. The only factor of
production for which the independent farmer can set the price is
his or her own time or labor. Technologies that improve
production by stressing management and skilled labor over capital
investments are potentially empowering to independent farmers. In
some cases, these production systems will help qualify the farmer
to take advantage of special marketing opportunities, such as
organic or antibiotic-free or with endorsements by bonafide animal
welfare groups, where prices above market price are offered.
2. Support the promotion of alternative markets and independent,
quality-oriented, farmer-owned packinghouses.
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