Mega-Farms Case Study

farms to keep their prices low, can eventually cause the market to fail. (58) The article The

In the article "Big Agriculture Is the Only Option" (The Observer September 11 2010), Jay Rayner explains how our self-sufficiency has dropped . Jay Rayner supports his statements by saying our self-sufficiency has dropped in the past decade to around 50% according to official figures which means that we really need to take action and really look into what we eat and

The Ontario Dairy Herd Improvement Corporation, run by general manager John Meek, aims to improve the efficiency and profitability of dairy farming through an accurate, rapid, and cost effective milk testing service. Milk testing is an essential herd management component for all dairy processors as it measures the amount, quality and contents of the dairy products. Supply management agencies limit milk production; thus, profit is maximized through acquiring premiums from quality dairy with high levels of protein and butter fat as opposed to mass production and distribution. The dairy herd is the largest source of revenue for farmers, data from milk testing helps maximize milk production as farmers

Alongside the growth of large farms, crops are being subsidized which leads to the prices of the goods being kept at a low price (Toews). For a family farm, this means producing a crop that is not cost effective which eventually drives the family farms out of business. Once these large corporations produce the crop, it is then shipped to the manufacturers

In 1990, there were over 9300 dairy farms in Ontario housing almost 450,000 cows. The farm-gate value of milk produced exceeded 1.3 billion dollars. At the retail level, dairy product sales in Ontario exceeded 4 billion dollars. The number of dairy herds in Ontario on a milk-testing program had declined from about 7100 in 1985 to 6000 in 1990. Moreover, a continued decrease was projected.

A discourse community follows Swales’ six characteristics: members share common goals, has a form of communication, a form of feedback, genres, a specific lexis, and has a level of expertise all within the group (Swales 25). I believe the Future Farmers of America is a great candidate for this topic for that it falls in to the categories listed by Swales. The start of Future Farmers of America came in 1900s in the state of Virginia. Adolescent to teenage males were not interested in farming and did not want to take over the family farms. This led to a homegrown farmer becoming the supervisor of Agriculture Education and set out to fix this problem, Walter Newman. With the help of Edmund C, Magill, Harry W. Sanders and the most influential Henry

Considering the marketing segment, we choose the target market from small, medium and large farms. If products are sold to small farms, the sales revenues even can’t cover the cost,

When we mention about farm, most of us have this image of a vast green pasture where farmers spend most of their time herding livestock but that idyllic picture is just a thing from the past. Since the 1930s in America, small farms started to wither away, made way to bigger and highly mechanized factory farms. It all traced back to McDonalds and the booming of fast food restaurants (Food, Inc 2008). Fast food restaurants had become successful because they could produce tasty food with cheaper cost. Their franchises eventually made them a multi-million-dollars industry. Big business required big suppliers. Small rural farms cannot meet the demand for supply and they quickly fade away. Farmers were being replaced by corporations in

The dairy business is a major industry in Canada which operates under the supply management system. Whether supply management should be eliminated or not has become a long-term debate in recent years. The system is necessary in making Canada's dairy industry become stronger and more reliable. As supply management is discussed as a whole, identifying the main reasons and effects of keeping supply management will be focused on. Specifically, how supply management effects Canadian dairy farmers, the economy, and consumers .

Canada 's dairy sector operates under a supply management system based on planned domestic production, supervised pricing and strict controls on dairy product imports. The system was adopted for industrial milk in the early 1970s to address the unstable prices, uncertain supplies and fluctuating producers and processor revenues which were common in the 1950s and 1960s. By enforcing this system, farmers attempt to strike the most accurate balance between supply and demand of dairy products (Canadian Dairy Commission, 2010).

The United States beef cattle industry is one of the most important national enterprises that exist in our economy today. Beef cattle production takes place in all 50 states and affects either directly or indirectly over 90% of our population. Though some American citizens may not understand or appreciate this industry, without it our nation would be the worse for it. However, there is always a positive and negative side to ever story. This industry has had some challenges which have affected our economy, and there are always new concerns arising that could potentially change the everyday life of the cattle producer and the soccer mom in the grocery store alike. The goal of this paper is to discuss the sheer size of this industry, the amount

Does the economic benefits of factory farming outweigh the disadvantages? Our lives are so closely linked to these farm animals, what makes them so different from our cats and dogs? We care much of our pets, but when it comes to the term ”factory farm”, little do we know about the production process of factory farm and the truth behind the scene. There are some ways that the producer can make sacrifice and still achieve increased profit. The economic benefit of factory farm does not necessary outweigh the disadvantages. It’s time we should boycott factory farm, not just for the welfare of animals, but also for our own sake.

The powered milk became such a commodity that the local produce dairy farms couldn’t sell their milk. A memorable scene in the film was when the dairy farmers had to spill out all their surplus milk that was only a days worth to make room for new milk since it wasn’t being consumed. A dairy farm used to produce 3,000 quarts per day and after America subsidized the milk industry, dairy farms were producing only about 600 liters. Dairy farmers were run out of their businesses and it’s sad to say but some dairy farmers were forced to convert to butchering their cows in order to make profit (Black).

She has added to this discourse of development by not agreeing with the Operation Flood model. This is the reason I feel that the author has made the dairy development discourse holistic. She has shown the shortcomings of this model and clear reasons why this model had brought more destruction that positives. This book should be used by future dairy experts to help chart out he future models of development in this area.

What skills do dairy farmers need to sustainably manage the opportunities along the dairy chain?