Research and Extension Needs of Small Farmers

Abstract

For nearly 30 years small scale farming generally was considered inefficient and undesirable. Operators of farms found it increasingly difficult to compete with large farm operators in the rna rket place because of insufficient product quantity, the seasonal structure of their production, and lack of marketing information. During this period, large commercial farms moved to higher levels of management sophistication and use of modern production technology. The market system also became more sophisticated because of mass marketing of agricultural products, monocultural production techniques and highly advanced assembly and distribution systems. In the late 1960s and early 1970s it became evident that food buyi ng behavior of consumers across the nation was changing. Food buying clubs and consumer cooperatives began to emerge as food prices increased. Also, many consumer food preferences changed, with quality factors such as freshness and taste, growing methods and packaging, and nutrition becoming important to more people. Produce obtained directly from farms often satisfied this new consumer desire. As a result, direct sales from farm to consumer became recognized as an important opportunity for the small scale farmer in the struggle for economic viability. Interest in small scale farmers and their problems became prominent in the Northeast during the mid 1970s. In Maine, the Cooperative Extension Service joined with the Maine Department of Agriculture to propose specific direct marketing programs to assist small farms . The Maine Department of Agriculture also recently began printing and distributing a weekly newsletter entitled Maine/y Agriculture, which contains prices of vegetables sold wholesale and at roadside stands and price ranges for livestock sold at various Maine livestock auctions. In 1978 a regional small farmer conference in Maine was sponsored by the U.S. D.A., C.S.A., and ACTION to hear small farm delegates speak about their specific problems and concerns. As a result of this conference, a plan to improve small farm programs was formulated and approved by Maine's Rural Development Committee. On the national level, at the initiation of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, ten public meetings have been scheduled across the country to gather information on the structure of agriculture. This information will be used in the formulation of farm policy in 1981. One area of particular concern is the viability of small farms and their role in agriculture and rural communities in coming years. Although problems of small scale farming have been widely recognized and discussed, no comprehensive plan to identify and document small scale farmers in Maine has been undertaken. As the initial step toward establishing a data base and guide for future research and extension service to small farms, a survey of Maine's small farm organizations was conducted. The primary objectives in questioning the leaders of Maine's small farm organizations were to determine: (I) their opinions as to what constitutes an appropriate definition of a small farm, (2) major research needs as they perceive them, (3) if they maintain a membership list and would make it