Cultural evolution and small-scale farming

Abstract

Small-scale farmers are defined under United States Department of Agriculture guidelines as those whose gross farm sales are less than $40,000. They are typically contrasted with mid-scale farmers whose gross sales are less than$100,000, and with large-scale farmers whose sales are more than $100,000. Arguments from cultural and historical sources are cited to show that in fact only two cultural traditions may be distinguished: family farmers and industrial farmers. Furthermore, these two traditions represent contemporary examples of specific and general trends in cultural evolution. The small-scale or family farm tradition is examined at length, based on results from the 1978 Small Farm Project interviews in Polk County, Oregon, and on the author's subsequent survey in 1985, as well as other published sources. The salient features of the small-scale farming lifeway, including its perceived strengths and weaknesses, is presented and recommendations are advanced for ways in which small farm communities may be helped to survive or even thrive in the presence of apparent dominance by large-scale, industrial farms