Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the facts say:
often highly
automated and integrated,
industrialized facilities
minimize labor
, with workers
overseeing hundreds, thousands, or
even tens of thousands of animals.
smaller, independent farmers
struggle to compete
with large operations and
can lose their jobs and
livelihoods
.
they say:
factory farms
create jobs, support
local businesses,
and boost local
economies
,
the facts say:
when a factory farm
moves in, property values
often fall, draining the tax
base and leaving little for higher
infrastructure costs. one
example:
pig factories in iowa
decreased the value of homes
within a ½-mile radius by
40% and by 30% for
homes within 1 mile.
the facts say:
large-scale facilities
tend to purchase fewer
inputs (e.g., building materials,
equipment, feed) from local
businesses and, compared to
smaller farms,
a lesser share
of profits from factory farms
ends up in local hands,
discouraging local
economic growth.
l
a
in
i
her
Local farmers contracting with vertically integrated corpora-
tions raise animals until slaughter, providing land, buildings, and
labor. The corporations supply company-owned animals, feed,
and transportation, and the “growers,” who typically own the
land, must construct company-approved buildings, potentially
investing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Karen Charman, an
investigative journalist, interviewed Rickey Gray, an assistant to
Mississippi's Agriculture Commissioner, about contract growers in
2002. “It's like being a gerbil in a cage, . . .” he said. “All in all, it's
like a modern day sharecropping system.”
Farmers agree. Royce Johnson, a Texas contract farmer spoke
to the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
in 2005: “They call us 'contract
