The Modern Family Farm and its Problems: With Particular Reference to the United States of America

If one were to define what is meant by ‘modernization of the family farm’, consolidation and/or farm enlargement would be rather high on one’s list of necessary requirements for modernization. So, too, would technological advance, especially the land and labour-saving varieties. Land-saving technology would be required to keep total agricultural production expanding to feed growing populations, while labour-saving technology would be required to increase per capita incomes in agriculture. These two, in turn, would require a substantial amount of off-farm migration as part of the modernization process. Another requirement for modernization would be an increasing level of education, both general and vocational, in order that farmers may handle the larger farms and the more advanced technologies which come with modernization. Still another requirement would be the existence of an institutional environment which would permit a modernized family farm to finance itself and prosper.