Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group in Washington, agrees. I think the land will be taken care of more intensively and better if there's a series of family operations. The pride of ownership and passing it along to generations is a big deal. Others view the consolidation trend less darkly. Steven Bobb, vice president for agricultural products at Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, said the same economic pressures are shared by all segments along the food chain.
Agriculture is in a world game.
Some see evidence that after years of strain, part of the rural economy finally is giving out. Even more worrisome, some critics say, was last winter's carnage in the hog industry, when prices collapsed to 8 cents a pound, a level virtually unseen since the Great Depression. Many factors played a part, including an oversupply of hogs. But there's little doubt that corporate mega-farms and new contracting methods played some role. Contracts are commonplace in business and industry, and a growing number of food companies use them to assure the quantity and quality of raw products.