Families are the Core of Corporate Farming
Katie Heger
W
hat do you notice when you look at an apple? Perhaps it’s the color or variety. How do you
choose which to buy at the market? Pink Lady? Gala? Granny Smith? Do you prefer tart over
sweet? There may seem to be no end to your choices, but in the end, you go home with a bag of apples.
Now, you may be wondering why I am talking about apples in a piece titled “corporate farming,”
but the two are more similar than you may think. Although apples come in many different varieties,
their basic parts are the same: core, seeds, flesh and skin. Similarly, every farm or ranch has the
same core parts—land, farmer, workers, crop or livestock, equipment and supplies—but farmers and
ranchers differ in how they use those core parts to run their business to its highest potential. This
includes the right to choose the business structure that meets their needs.
Having the opportunity to choose to be a corporation should be an option for all, not just some,
but for many farmers the corporate business structure is not available. Some states have restricted or
eliminated this option out of concern over the unknown about how corporate farming would fully play
out. Corporate farming options do need to be weighed carefully, and when done right, the benefits
can be significant. With the tough economic times America’s farmland is now facing, it makes good
business sense to open the door for investors or partnerships that would assist farmers in their ability
to persevere and possibly boost their businesses and rural economies.
Corporate farming often gets played as an emotional issue, one that many fear will take away the
“family” aspect of farming. The concern is real and needs to be taken into consideration. Consumers
hear the word “corporate” and think of suits and ties and hundreds of employees. They don’t want to
lose the nostalgic image they have of the small mom-and-pop farm with one field, a cow and a few
chickens. But most people are at least three generations removed from farming or ranching, and don’t
22 West Virginia Farm Bureau News