Small Farms, Big Plans: Mechanization and Specialization as Measures of “The Middle”

Abstract

Over the past decades, farms in the U.S. have become fewer and larger. Along with the trend of increasing in size, farms have become increasingly specialized, producing fewer products per farm, and mechanized, relying on precision equipment rather than human labor. The concepts of farm size, specialization, and mechanization, appear to be tightly articulated. As a farm increases in size, it becomes more specialized and reliant on equipment. Conversely, a smaller farm is more diverse and labor-intensive. This paper attempts to disconnect these three concepts by first showing where anthropologists have questioned the inevitability of increasing specialization and mechanization as farm size increases, particularly in the years following the 1980s farm crisis. Second, using ethnographic examples from local food producers in Iowa, this paper explores the utility of specialization and mechanization, even on very small acreages. Using ethnographic analysis to disentangle specialization and mechanization with farm size can help us reconceptualize what we mean by the agricultural middle, focusing on farm practices, rather than farm size.