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fully understand the business side of agriculture. A few quick numbers reveal the majority of“ corporate farms” are actually family businesses. Of the 2.1 million farms in the U. S. in 2015, 5 percent were incorporated, and from that 5 percent, 4.5 percent were family-owned. And 98 percent of those family corporations had fewer than 10 shareholders.
Creating farm corporations opens up more opportunities for direct family involvement in farming, and allows for non-blood relatives to take up the business as well. Younger generations will not have to walk away from farms that have been in their families for decades. Corporate farming can make it more attainable for young farmers and ranchers to get their start. It is very difficult, if not impossible because of initial capital investments, to be a first-generation farmer or rancher. The ability to use the corporate structure is one way to bring upcoming generations back into production agriculture and ranching instead of pushing them away.
As you can tell, I am a believer in opportunity, but opportunity must come with protection. Protections need to be in place to make sure that large industrial businesses do not overtake agriculture. We don’ t want to lose the heritage and work of previous generations in agriculture. Corporate farming options need to stay in the hands of those working in the soil to raise crops and livestock, rather than allow for energy- and product-based companies to control or impede the daily work of a farm or ranch. By providing all business structure options for farms and ranches, we can preserve an agricultural heritage that we, U. S. farmers, so proudly stand for. But with limited business options, we run the risk of losing our family farms and reducing the number of people directly involved in agriculture.
As I sit reflecting on all that I have been blessed with and desire to pass on to future generations, I recall our farm’ s motto:“ Honoring the past, working today, preparing for the future.” The time is now to prepare for the future, to keep farms and ranches up and running, and to bring new farmers in, maximizing agriculture’ s
potential to build businesses that last for generations to come.
Katie Heger, dedicated advocate for agriculture, blogs at hegerfamilyfarms. wordpress. com and shares at Heger Farms on Facebook. Katie and her husband farm corn, soybeans and wheat in central North Dakota.
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West Virginia Farm Bureau News 23