Who R the ones who really make the big money in agriculture?

Question

I heard the food processors do,but most farms in America nowadays are runed & owned by big corporations. What's really going on.

Answer 1

it's not the farmers, that's for sure.

I'd say the banks are making the most from farming since just about all the farmers are in debt up to their eyeballs just to operate.

Than the wholesalers are next in line.

Answer 2

Well , companies that trade foods in different states , make money , and yes they do own farms.Idaho potatoes is one of the agricultural companies that produce potatoes nationwide, just like fruits, veggies etc.

Answer 3

large corprate companies and food store chains

Answer 4

In the U.S., the biggest hogs at the trough are Archer Daniels Midland Corp. and Cargill Corp.

Cargill makes about $75 billion per year.

Answer 5

The big money these days in agriculture seems to change frequently according to a great many reasons. Currently there is a lot of money in corn for ethanol fuel as well as oil crops for diesel fuel alternatives, a trend obviously dictated by the supply and demand of a product whose need will not go away any time soon. These crops ride on the coat tails of all the publicity and free advertising, taking full advantage of research and marketing strategy which is, off course to there benefit and commendable from a business standpoint. Food crops and non-food related crops (lets not forget the king, tobacco) like these mentioned with respect to the huge needs of an increasing world population and the countries that are the main players in the world at present, have a system of management apart from the actual grower. The farmer will work the field and produce the product while the hoards of white collar workers, "futures" investors/ manipulators, buyers, shippers, packers, etc spend their time and energy sorting the cards, risking their health threw exposure to microwave radiation from their cell phones, and carpal tunnel syndrome from their keyboards. As the farmer had to grow to offset the cost of business and the small farms were collected bit by bit in to the big agro businesses, the result was the huge work force of office personnel to manage all this. That is where a lot of the big money is, but only at the apex of the organization. We got away from the local economy and the regional use and production of what the community needed in an effort to adjust as the world grew (complicated) and matured into a modern society of today. It is what it is, good or bad, but  the cost of all that bureaucracy is responsible for the high and rising cost of basic foods. It is too bad that for all the work done on pesticides that one was never formulated to rid us of the pest of the bloated business. Yes there is a benefit to import and export with respect to cultural exchange but it is larger and more complicated than that and has become a political giant that dictates foreign policy decisions. I point it out to explain the reasoning for the answer I give to your question.

In the last decade or so there had been another source of big money in the world of agriculture and it has been in response to the trends I outlined above; that of the niche farmer on the traditional old world farm. Look at your location and look at local need. With a community's appetite whetted from years of exposure to our world, our great and modern culture, and also advances in agriculture as a science in a world with population induced "complications", new markets are opening up locally and are as varied and diverse as the imagination and ability of the modern farmer. A case in point is the beer and wine production of Germany. Having had the great fortune to have lived there for a few years as a young man (I am from the US), I found that for all the exports of great beers and wines in huge quantity, there were local products that were regional only, and they were without peer. I know because I attempted to experience them all and it was incredible! Those small local companies in their own local economies are, and have always been integral in all facets of local life. In the US there has been a great move back to the private farm and great strides have been initiated in reclaiming the role of the small farm and entrepreneur, and the move especially to direct marketing strategy seen in all kinds of manufactured products is a great help; empowering. Local production of anything organic is huge. Production of niche varieties (food and non-food), of the novelty, of "concept farming" (I've been involved with totally organic closed system aquaculture/ hydroponics with great results, more so for teaching) has been a great renewing force and represents a huge percentage of the market today that grows in leaps and bounds. Sorry for the long winded response but I needed to make a point and then prove it.

Answer 6

Well, only 1, I can tell you one thing for sure. It ain't the cowboys. In farming today the prices of production have become so high that it extremely close to make a profit on a few cows, or a couple of pigs, or a few acres of corn. This has nearly put the family farm out of business. The farmers that are making a decent living today are the ones that have put together enough land to raise many acres of corn, or hundreds of cows or other livestock to make enough profit to get by. The small farms are swallowed up or turn to specialty farming to hang on. The big money you are asking about are the food processors that have started large farms themselves and are growing their own product. Others may be contract farming with producers to raise product for them. This is the case in the large chicken growers. Someone else has mentioned a couple of these names, so I won't name a lot more, but they are the ones making the big money farming. Even our biggest independent farms are just getting by and most with bank notes that would scare you to death.

Answer 7

in terms of agriculture, the big farmers who can afford the machinery. they need to be able to increase the inputs in order to increase the outputs. hence, more of a profit is made, this is an upwards spiral. on the other hand, smaller farmers cannot afford an increase in inputs so there outputs are also relitivly low. making very little profit. the farmers you see making a profit will be those in commercial farming in MEDCs as apposed so subsitance farmers in LEDCs.

Answer 8

what type of easy question is this? of cause it is the industrial companies who make money from agriculture