December 15, 2005

Study identifies agriculture’s future challenges

WASHINGTON—Over the next 15 years, American agriculture will remain a productive and profitable venture, but the industry will look considerably different than it does today. According to a two-year American Farm Bureau Federation study, U.S. agriculture’s future will include a drastically changed government farm program, continued consolidation of production, and the adoption of additional environmental practices dictated by the marketplace.

The study was conducted by the AFBF Making American Agriculture Productive and Profitable Committee. The committee consisted of 23 farmers and ranchers from across the nation who spent two years studying the possible structure of U.S. agriculture in the year 2019, Farm Bureau’s 100th anniversary.

“It is obvious from the report that America’s farm and ranch families are facing big challenges, but also big opportunities,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman, who unveiled the report Monday. He said the report showed that Farm Bureau “must lead public policy efforts that ensure rural America is the place to find a well-educated work force and is the place that entrepreneurs will establish businesses, especially businesses related to agriculture.”

The MAAPP Committee was asked to develop a vision of where American agriculture should be in 2019 and then develop policy recommendations to help farmers make the needed transition.

Perhaps one of the most glaring areas in the report deals with the future structure of American agriculture. In 2002, 143,000 farming operations produced 75 percent of the value of all agricultural output. It took 1.9 million operations to produce the remaining 25 percent. According to the report, however, by 2019, there will be more large farms and more small farms, but the number of mid-sized farms will have decreased drastically.

The report also explored the relationship between farmers and their rural communities. Even today, farmers actually depend more on rural communities than they recognize, due to off-farm employment for spouses or part-time employment for themselves. Farmers and ranchers depend heavily on rural infrastructure, support services and businesses, such as roads, libraries, schools, banks and health care facilities.

The report will be publicly unveiled at the AFBF annual meeting, Jan. 8-11 in Nashville, Tenn.

Contact Richard Keller, 202-406-3640, or Cyndie Sirekis, 202-406-3649, American Farm Bureau.