These corporate farms can be sole proprietorships owned by a single family, for instance but more often are partnerships, corporations or legal entities held by several partners. In some cases, the owners have recognized brand names often found on food products in local grocery store racks. The backers of farms might include large food companies or affluent farmers who have smartly bought rival farming operations during periods of consolidation. Grocery store chains for the most part aren t involved in this farming process. They sell the end products to consumers after it is packaged by others.
Generational farmers are almost always sole proprietorships.
There are several key economic factors that bear on the farming sector. Interest rates, for starters. Borrowing money at low interest rates is often a key to success. In the mid-1980s, many small farmers got caught holding too much debt, forcing several to sell their livestock and farms to bigger operations. Competition from imports, having dependable tractors and other machinery, and weather are some of the other big factors influencing the ag sector.