Small Farming In America Essay

“Farmers had endured great hardships in helping transform the plains from the Great American Desert into the breadbasket of the nation, yet every year they repaped less and less of the bounty they had sowed with their sweat.”() In the late 1800s, farmers all across the world were trapped in a violent economic stage. Prices for crops, animals, and machinery were raising. In order to produce these farmers often mortgaged their farms and homes so that they could afford to buy more land and harvest more crops. However, good farming land was becoming scarce for these men and the banks that provided for the farmers were foreclosing on the mortgages causing a lot of small farms to shut down. () Those same problems that many farmers faced over two hundred years ago are still viable to many modern farmers today. In the 21st century, small farming is one of the riskiest businesses to run today. While many farmers love the life that they have chosen for themselves, the dual challenges of local economics and weather patterns that consistently change through the years can make commercial small farming a pursuit that is not for the faint of heart. Both raising of livestock for show or butuar purposes and crop farming are a subject to the whims of nature and the competition of big business.() However, the small farmers of America today face many more problems associated with society norms and the constructive moral views of people. The agricultural industry continues to struggle today because of exponential population

Farming is a huge boon to the local economy. Ninety-six percent of all American farms owned are family owned farms. The average farmer provides food for one hundred and fifty-five American families. When a community buys local, homegrown foods they support their families while also contributing to the towns economy and family