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the land. In Illinois, for example, the average farm size went up by 40 acres in

10 years, but total farmland in the state actually declined because more land

has been urbanized. Much of the farmland was taken over by the suburban

development, retail centers, and the setup of business offices. This occur

regularly where farmers were unable to pay back their loans, therefore, large

corporations would take over the land, and build infrastructures. Agribusiness

also posed a threat to many family farms. Agribusiness is the name for the

sector of the economy that purchases and processes agricultural commodities and

often produces them and fabricates and sells agricultural production materials

and equipment. During the winter of 1978-79, the nation capital, Washington, was

a host to one of the largest demonstrations in years. The protest came from

family farmers, in the heartland of America, who had organized a ‘trader-cade’

to Washington and were blocking traffic in the capital. The protest was to call

attention to the crisis in the U.S. agriculture system, which threatened the

survival of the family farm, and this is one of the implications agribusiness

has on the family farm. The numbers of family owned and operated farms has long

been on the decline, and those who are likely to survive the crisis are large

agribusiness corporations. An additional implication is the ‘cost price squeeze’

situation. This is where farmers are caught between declining farm prices and

rising costs. Farmers are constantly trying to increase productivity, but in

doing so tend to overproduce for the market, driving down prices and incomes.

When this occurs, it leads to bankruptcy for the weakest competitors, typically

those who are having trouble buying the basic necessities for the farm (Burnach

1980, pp. 22) A critical feature which distinguishes a system of family farming

from corporation based factory farming is the use of family labor rather than

wage labor. The family farm unit differs significantly from the corporate owned

farm in that no matter how large the farm is, or mechanized it is the primary

input of labor on the family farm comes for family members. On the other hand,

large agribusiness firs owned by such companies as United Brands employ hundreds

of wage laborers. It is bad news for family farms because family farm members

are attracted to the wage pay from the agribusiness firms; thus they leave their

farms to go to these firms, leaving no one to work on the family farm. As a

result the family farm starts to see declined in productivity, and not too far

away, the selling of the farm to some big firm, who can meet the monthly

expenses. This is another implication affecting the decline of family farms.

When family farms realize that they are getting into trouble with their farm,

their immediate reaction is to sell off some of their assets. The following

table shows some examples of immediate reactions to trouble. Actions of farmers

in financial trouble, 1983-1987 __________________________________________ % #

__________________________________________ Attended crisis meetings 60 32 Became

an activist 22 13 Cooperated with lender 48 27 Counseled other farmers 52 30

Sold or gave back land 55 32 Eliminated enterprise 50 29 Sold machinery 35 20

Took off farm job 36 21 __________________________________________ Source:

Sample data (N=58) (Friedberger 1989, pp.75) However, whenever there is trouble,

there is almost always some kind of relief. In 1985, an Act called "Save

the Family Farms", was passed by the government. It imposed mandatory

controls on production and the amount of land that could be farmed. Its basic

objective was to raise farm prices through a modest increase to the consumer in

price of food. The "Save the Family Farm" aimed to provide an

alternative. Its corner stone, the minimum price provision. Was offered as the

equivalent of the minimum wage in urban occupation. It also had other important

aspects, notably a concern for the future of land tenure and the initiation of

refinancing provisions for farmers (Friedberger 1989, pp. 147). Basically the

aim of this act was to help save the last few family farm. A problem facing

family farms today is that it is hard for the young farmers to get ahead.

Sometimes the farm is not passed down from generation to generation, so it is

hard for the young farmers to start up their operations. Not only are young

people more receptive to new ideas in general, but beginning farmers are at a

stage in their lives when their making decisions about the kind of machinery

they will but and the methods they will use. Younger farmers also need to

maximize their income from sales and maybe more inclined to bypass the tradition

marketing and processing system. Younger farmers also have less land (depending

on how much help they got from their parents) so the ones with smaller

operations may have more time to use sustainable methods. If there is a single

message here, its that getting stated in farming today is still possible but

that it’s not easy. For most young people farming means having less leisure

time, less security, fewer benefits and often less income than their city

friends with a job do. This is what scares many young farmers, thus adding to

the decrease of family farms. An additional problem facing young family farms is

the constant

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