The core identity of U.S. farming is now "essentially capitalist," operating on a scale unrecognizable to the rest of the world and focused on industrial outputs, not necessarily food for people.
This system is built on:
Extreme Scale: Farming operations are characterized by "very large land holdings," typically 500 acres per farm, and "high levels of mechanization." Only a small fraction of the U.S. population is engaged in these two million operations.
Industrial Feedstock: U.S. agriculture is overwhelmingly a "feedstock producer for massive agribusinesses." The dominant crops—corn and soybean—are not primarily for direct human consumption, which is reserved for "speciality" crops like fruits and vegetables.
High Efficiency: This model results in sky-high efficiency; U.S. maize yield is an estimated three times that of India.
The purpose of the U.S. farm is clear: to generate a massive, consistent surplus for the processing and industrial sectors.
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