Rockwood, ON - Economic demography suggests that the mid-size farm in Canada is in sharp decline. A Policy Concepts Paper released today by Agri-Food Economic Systems explores how this affects agriculture as a community, and the implications on a range of stakeholders. It makes the case that in this environment, many of the assumptions taken for granted in terms of how agriculture works are subject to change.
The paper explores changes in Canadian farms by economic size class recorded in the census over time, and observes that large and very large farms are growing in number and economic significance over time, while small and, especially, mid-sized farms are in decline in both number and economic significance.
“We have a declining number of small farms, for whom agriculture is not the primary source of household income; a much smaller number of large and very large farms that are growing in number, for whom farming is the overwhelming source of household income; and a steep decline in the number of middle-sized farms- where previously, farming was the dominant source of household income”, says Al Mussell, Agri-Food Economic Systems Research Lead and author of the paper. “The share of farm cash receipts has come to be dominated by the large farms.”
These changes in demography stand to question some basic assumptions, and threaten accepted norms in the agricultural community. “The collapsing middle of the farm size distribution threatens the community constituted by agriculture, with its commonality of interests and views, and institutions developed to support them”, says Mussell.
The paper concludes that the answer is not to reign in the large farms that anchor the efficiency and competitiveness of our agri-food supply chains. Rather, it recommends a dialogue be built around renewed collaboration and institutions to facilitate a renewal of diversity in our farms and support the viability of small and mid-sized farms.
Source : Agri-Food Economic Systems