Small farms appear to be losing to corporate farms.
News reports in the last year often have mentioned that the nation's farms are in the midst of a crisis. Politicians from both parties ponder the plight of the family farm and urge government intervention to maintain and restore one of the central parts of the American economy. Clinton, however, was telling only half the story. The numbers tell the story. According to the Center for Rural Affairs, five corporations now control 89 percent of all beef processing, and four corporations control 58 percent of all pork processing.