Everyone wants to blame large farmers for the declining number of farms today. I found some interesting information recently that indicates large farmers are not to blame, but tractors.

As tractors replaced human and horse labor, the size of farms increased, resulting in fewer farms. After 1940 (the year the tractor took over) there was a RAPID decrease in the number of farms. In 1910 there were slightly more than a million farms smaller than 20 acres and 20,000 that were larger than 500 acres. In the 40's, at the start of the war, 6.8 million families and 30 million people lived on farms and there were 1.2 million tractors. By 1950, the number of tractors had climbed to almost 4 million. The number of people on farms had fallen to just over 23 million. This number has declined steadily since then.

This proves that large farmers are not the reason for the declining number of farmers. It also shows that even in 1910, there were numerous farms that were 25 times larger than the average farm size.

I have yet to see anyone protest the use of tractors, have you? But people are quick to jump on the bandwagon to eliminate the farmers they feel are "too big" or who use modern animal facilities to raise their livestock. I see plenty of new vehicles driving around cities with GPS; everyone wants the newest technology in their vehicle, and this is fine. But if farmers want to enjoy the latest technology on their farms, they are attacked by activist groups who target the use of modern agriculture practices.