The U.S. Department of Labor expects that the United States will lose 13.2 percent of all family farm jobs between 1998 and 2008, the largest projected job loss among all occupations. Driven by trade rules devised in Washington for the WTO, that strive to reduce or eliminate agricultural subsidies, a series of governmental policies are squeezing out the family farmer while benefiting corporate agribusiness.

"The disparity is a symptom of a support system that is out of kilter with the needs of the average cash-strapped farmer,"says Anuradha Mittal, Food First Co-director and author of the report. "Most payments are tied to acreage: more land equals bigger checks."

This is part of the "get big or get out" policy that drives farming in the United States and has accelerated corporate concentration in agriculture. Today only two companies, Cargill and Continental, control two-thirds of all grain trade in the world. Meanwhile, between 1994 and 1996 about 25 percent of all hog farmers, 10 percent of all grain farmers, and 10 percent of all dairy farmers went out of business.

"American family farmers have been the net losers because the prices they receive are below the cost of production. Family farmers produce too little to affect total supply and ultimately prices," Says Mittal. "Reducing their output, rather than helping boost prices, means less revenue for them. So they have to keep boosting production to bring home even the smallest income." The result is that family farmers work longer hours, produce more, and earn less -- far less.

The loss of family farms is wiping out rural communities across America. Family farm dollars once circulated through these communities, buying equipment, supplies, and groceries from local merchants. Larger corporate farms bypass this community network, in an effort to centralize their purchases. This has endangered the very existence of rural communities in America.

The report concludes that the excessive focus on exports is forcing overproduction and driving down farm prices. Low prices hurt American farmers, and make it impossible for farmers in other countries to compete. Thus this model is driving both American family farmers, and their Third World counterparts from the land. A more healthy alternative is a model that focuses on the strength of the family farm, which is relatively efficient, generates jobs, and can conserve the environment and preserve rural communities better than corporate farms.
Full copy of the report can be found at:

http://www.foodfirst.org/pubs/backgrdrs/2001/f01v7n4.html