![]() ![]() Canadian agriculture is using more energy - but more efficiently, tooĪ 2015 article published in Canadian Food Studies that looked at farm ownership in three Saskatchewan rural municipalities found that the largest four owners in each "more than doubled, or nearly tripled" their portion of land between 19.From the fridge back to the farm: How the pandemic is affecting where your food comes from."The farmer, like any business person would, has successfully replaced labour with capital," Olfert says. Over the years, advances in equipment have meant labour requirements to maintain farms have declined. And their neighbours are more open to sell when their land fetches a higher price. When the economy booms, it can speed up the process because more accessible credit allows farmers to borrow more to buy more land. The purchases make their properties more profitable, allowing for more reinvestment. Higher returns allow farmers to invest in land and equipment. The bigger the farms, the more profitable they can be. Since engines replaced horses, advances in machinery have made it easier to manage large swaths of land. Olfert has dedicated her life to studying agricultural economics and says centralization of agriculture is just a fact of life. In 2011, the last time data was collected, the average farm size in the province was 1,668 acres, compared to 432 in 1941 - although University of Saskatchewan professor emeritus Rose Olfert notes the 2011 figure could skew small because it includes small hobby farms. Within a single lifetime, by 2016, those numbers fell roughly 82 per cent, to 24,523. Records show that the number of Saskatchewan farms peaked in 1941 at 138,713. Opinion 'Sustainable' is a trendy word in the food industry - but farmers aren't getting enough credit for it ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |