Recent sociological research has focused on the internal dynamics and the external environment of agriculture. Agriculture is becoming increasingly more industrialized, which could have an effect on the sustainablity of agriculture. Few farmers are concerned with anything but the economics of farming. Sociology strives to determine why this outlook exists. They also consider the natural environment from a sociological perspective.
Agriculture takes place on small family farms, large farms, and industrial farms.
Technological change tends to benefit the large and industrial farms with the financial resources to adopt it first. Small farms eventually adopt the technology to keep up with the larger farms, but they do not benefit as much as the initial adoptors. This produces a socioeconomic gap as large farms are the largest beneficiaries of agricultural technology. Biases in the research system allow sponsors to control the type and benefits of the research. Scientists must apply for research funding, and whoever provides that capital controls the direction of the research.