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Jethro: "Your herbicide is too deadly, how can I drink my beer and aim the sprayer at the same time without getting this shit all over my crops and killin em?"

Jethro: "Your herbicide is too deadly, how can I drink my beer and aim the sprayer at the same time without getting this shit all over my crops and killin em?" Sales Rep: "Oh, you mean you'd use more if it didn't do that... well I mean, I suppose... we could genetically engineer new crops so you could spray as much as you wanted without harming them" Jethro: "We farmers are simple folk and we are environmentalist - so - I appreciate such a simple solution. We also need more gopher poison when you get a chance"

M_Grey 10y ago
I like the idea that "Jethro" is still running the farm. It's not usually true, but I guess it makes for a more amusing anecdote.
- newman8r 10y ago
  The funny thing is there's basically a jethro in my family but I won't get into that here. In California there's still some specialty crops on expensive land that allow for family owned operations but even here it's probably going to be a thing of the past soon. I worked on an avocado ranch (insert unnamed corporate sponsor here) in undergrad and I met a lot of "jethros" - there's a fraternity called AGR, I think that's where they trained them. Even the guys with agribusiness degrees at cal poly were hicks, I used to drink beers on the job, etc. And I was in charge of killing the gophers, sometimes with horrible poison, sometimes with "rodex". The day I quit, I said something about the entire field of agriculture not being interesting enough and I switched majors the next quarter.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    The typical US farm is a family owned business. http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/201431/eib24b_1_.pdf http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/201431/eib24b_1_.pdf A key para Ninety-eight percent of U.S. farms are family farms. The remaining 2 percent are nonfamily farms, which produce 15 percent of the value of agricultural output (fig. 4). Two features of family farms stand out. First, there are many small family farms (< $250,000 annual sales), making up 90 percent of all U.S. farms. Second, large-scale family farms account for 60 percent of all production. So large closely held farms produce 60% of US output and smaller farms produce another 25% of US output.
    - newman8r 10y ago
      that's really interesting although slightly dated dated (it goes against my preconceived notions either way though) - the "million dollar farms" section is notable given the increase recorded from 2003 to 2004, I wonder whether those numbers have shifted significantly in the last decade.
    - M_Grey 10y ago
      The number of "family farms", however you choose to define that as a meaningful term, is roughly the same percentage. the output has dropped below 50% of total agricultural output however. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib-146.aspx http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-informatio... Farming is still an industry of family businesses. Ninety-nine percent of farms are family farms, and they account for 90 percent of farm production. Small farms make up 90 percent of the farm count and operate 46 percent of the Nation's farmland. Most farm production, however, occurs on midsize and large-scale family farms. It's also worth asking the question, "Is the term 'family farm' meaningful in many of these cases?"
      - maxerickson 10y ago
        If you choose to include midsize and large scale family farms in "family farms", then your source contradicts, the output has dropped below 50% of total agricultural output however. It says as much in the portion you quoted. Farms have gotten larger as equipment has gotten larger and more effective. This isn't particularly shocking. But much of the consolidation has been individuals and families building up large farms over time. It certainly appears that production will continue to concentrate under fewer and fewer operators, so the scary stories about the corporate takeover of farming can still come true.
        M_Grey 10y ago
        Again, are they "scary stories" or just the reality of where most of our food comes from? I'm also still curious about just how meaningful the term "Family farm" is.

M_Grey 10y ago

I like the idea that "Jethro" is still running the farm. It's not usually true, but I guess it makes for a more amusing anecdote.

newman8r 10y ago
The funny thing is there's basically a jethro in my family but I won't get into that here. In California there's still some specialty crops on expensive land that allow for family owned operations but even here it's probably going to be a thing of the past soon. I worked on an avocado ranch (insert unnamed corporate sponsor here) in undergrad and I met a lot of "jethros" - there's a fraternity called AGR, I think that's where they trained them. Even the guys with agribusiness degrees at cal poly were hicks, I used to drink beers on the job, etc. And I was in charge of killing the gophers, sometimes with horrible poison, sometimes with "rodex". The day I quit, I said something about the entire field of agriculture not being interesting enough and I switched majors the next quarter.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  The typical US farm is a family owned business. http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/201431/eib24b_1_.pdf http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/201431/eib24b_1_.pdf A key para Ninety-eight percent of U.S. farms are family farms. The remaining 2 percent are nonfamily farms, which produce 15 percent of the value of agricultural output (fig. 4). Two features of family farms stand out. First, there are many small family farms (< $250,000 annual sales), making up 90 percent of all U.S. farms. Second, large-scale family farms account for 60 percent of all production. So large closely held farms produce 60% of US output and smaller farms produce another 25% of US output.
  - newman8r 10y ago
    that's really interesting although slightly dated dated (it goes against my preconceived notions either way though) - the "million dollar farms" section is notable given the increase recorded from 2003 to 2004, I wonder whether those numbers have shifted significantly in the last decade.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    The number of "family farms", however you choose to define that as a meaningful term, is roughly the same percentage. the output has dropped below 50% of total agricultural output however. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib-146.aspx http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-informatio... Farming is still an industry of family businesses. Ninety-nine percent of farms are family farms, and they account for 90 percent of farm production. Small farms make up 90 percent of the farm count and operate 46 percent of the Nation's farmland. Most farm production, however, occurs on midsize and large-scale family farms. It's also worth asking the question, "Is the term 'family farm' meaningful in many of these cases?"
    - maxerickson 10y ago
      If you choose to include midsize and large scale family farms in "family farms", then your source contradicts, the output has dropped below 50% of total agricultural output however. It says as much in the portion you quoted. Farms have gotten larger as equipment has gotten larger and more effective. This isn't particularly shocking. But much of the consolidation has been individuals and families building up large farms over time. It certainly appears that production will continue to concentrate under fewer and fewer operators, so the scary stories about the corporate takeover of farming can still come true.
      - M_Grey 10y ago
        Again, are they "scary stories" or just the reality of where most of our food comes from? I'm also still curious about just how meaningful the term "Family farm" is.