The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service has released a report on trends in consolidation among farms producing livestock and feed and food crops.
In the past 30 years, farm consolidation has continued to shift toward larger farms, says James MacDonald, report co-author and chief of structure, technology and productivity branch of ERS.
While the move is part of a much longer trend, it shows livestock producers tend to stop growing their own feed and have started to buy it instead.
"For many farms, they feel they can purchase feed that is better tailored to their animals than they can produce on their own," says MacDonald.
Read the full report, Three Decades of Consolidation in U.S. Agriculture, here.
