Family Farming in America
Projections for the future estimate that farming will decrease by 25% over the next 13 years. This hypothesis would correspond to data collected over the years in that family farms are rapidly disappearing. There are nearly 5 million fewer farms in the United State than there were in the 1930s, and out of the 2 million remaining, only 565000 are family operations. According to the EPA, productive farmland is lost to development daily (about 3000 acres). Between 2005 and 2006m the United States lost 8900 farm (roughly more than 1 per hour). However, as family businessess suffered, the number of corporate-owned U.S. farms increased by more than 46%.
Picture


82% of Americans are somewhat or very concerned over the prospect that family farms are decreasing in number.  Though some projections calculate a disappearance of family farms in general, other studies reveal that there is an increase in interest over the preservation of local farms. Organizations targeted towards preserving the heritage of America and protecting the subsidies of family farms are listed below.

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ - encourages home-cooked meals, comprised of sustainably grown, wholesale foods
http://chefscollaborative.org/ - a collection of chefs and numerous others in the food industry who promote locally grown food
http://www.heritagefoodsusa.com/ - preservation of genetic diversity
http://www.nehbc.org/ - like Heritage Foods, New England Heritage Breeds Conservatory reintroduces near-extinction breeds of farm animals
http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723595/k.EE67/Family_Farmers_Good_Food_A_Better_America.htm - a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of family farms


Though these examples are few in comparison to the plethora of organizations, other ways to contribute to the cause include:
-buying locally such as from a farmers market or a food co-op
-asking your grocery to integrate local food, supplying it at the store
-encouraging future generations to farm by recognizing the importance and reward of farming

The government's contributions could include:
-Increase of trade barriers
-Safety nets in income
-Anti-trust law enforcement to increase competitiveness
-To half of the net farm income, direct payment amounts


As industrial farms continue to grow in number, a plethora of issues arise. The main implication of these factory farms is the emmissions they produce into the air, soil, and water supplies. In livestock production, large amounts of untreated manure release hazardous gases into the air such as ammonia and methane, as well as nitrogen, pathogens, and phospherous into water sources. The genetic diversity of animals is also reduced in factory farming in that only selected types of livestock are bred. As a continuous trend, larger companies are continuing to dominate free-market economies. Increasing this concentration of power only creates a more plausible outcome that the food markets will adapt monopolistic or oligarchial attributes.
Picture
Manure runoff from a factory farm. As exhibited here, industrial pollution effects nearby water sources as well as soil and the atmosphere