Patio Pondering: Fewer Choices, Fewer Voices
On the heels of my writing about the comparisons between the 1980s and the 2020s for farmers and the ag economy, we get an announcement of a new joint venture in the feed industry. These kinds of moves are often praised for driving efficiency. Yet I can’t help but wonder—what do we lose in terms of diversity of ideas, products, and opportunities when agriculture becomes more consolidated?
Unlike the praise filling social media, my gut reaction was different. This isn’t good for rural America.
It’s not just this joint venture. It is the culmination of decades of consolidation, streamlining products, services, and opportunities. We’ve seen it in equipment, seed genetics, crop inputs, and now feed. The trend leaves fewer choices, fewer openings, and fewer voices in agriculture.
Another area that concerns me is the limiting of hiring opportunities in agriculture as companies consolidate. I regularly hear from AGvocates and universities about the abundance of career opportunities in this field. But if there are fewer companies and fewer production facilities, won’t there inevitably be fewer doors for students to walk through? And what about the unintended consequences of these mergers?
A friend raised a sobering question this morning: what happens if your name lands on a “do not hire” list at one of these giants? As mergers pile on mergers, does that shadow follow you through the entire industry? Could consolidation eventually make some people unemployable in agriculture?
As a scientist, I also worry about the impact on research and innovation. When consolidation limits competition, it often limits curiosity. We’ve already seen research squeezed at land-grant universities through tighter budgets, eliminated positions, and hiring freezes. Fewer paths to discovery mean fewer breakthroughs for agriculture’s future.
We like to celebrate efficiency in this business. We raise pigs and cattle with fewer inputs than ever before. But efficiency is a two-edged sword. The less we need, the fewer people it takes to get the job done. That can ripple through communities in ways that aren’t always visible at first.
Consolidation is not a new thing in agriculture. It has been happening since the start of the industrial revolution with equipment, inputs, and even farms. But at what point do we as an industry say enough is enough? When do we put our foot down to push for diversity of operations and suppliers, and try to keep some semblance of variety in perspectives and thought? I’d love to hear how others see the balance between efficiency and opportunity.