EDITORIAL: Small farms re-emerge in national agenda Desmond A.
Jolly, UC Statewide Small Farm Program California Agriculture
53(6):2-2. DOI: 10.3733/ca.v053n06p2. Director, UC Statewide
Small Farm Program; In recent decades, policy-makers have often
measured the Ivalue of farms in terms of their production
economics. Society was seen as better off if larger, more
efficient farms displaced smaller, less efficient ones. Such
analysis drove much public policy and research effort, and
informed allocations of technical and government assistance. In
contrast, the USDA National Commission on Small Farms called for
diversity in farm operations in its 1998 report A Time to Act.
The Commission noted that 60% of all farms are less than 180
acres. The responsible management of the soil, water and
wildlife encompassed by these operations are of significant
public benefit. In many rural communities, small-scale family
farms provide an economic foundation, generating revenues, taxes
and jobs for local communities. Consumers