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Typology and Policy for Small Farms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Luther Tweeten
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
G. Bradley Cilley
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
Isaac Popoola
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater

Extract

The trend toward larger and fewer farms has alarmed many persons who view the small farm as an integral part of American society. Advocates of the small farm have called for policies to halt the continuing decline in the number of small farms in the United States. In evaluating the merits of potential policies, understanding the composition of small farms in the U.S. is critical.

Appropriate public policy would be very different if small farms were operated solely by households with substantial off-farm income and who need no public assistance, solely by households pursuing an alternative to urban-industrial society's lifestyle and who want no public assistance, or solely by households who are aged and disabled and who want and need public assistance to avoid absolute deprivation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1980

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