Until the mid-20th century, the only crops that could be grown in Brazil en masse were plantation crops, first and most famously sugar, but in time coffee, citrus, bananas and tobacco. But unlike more traditional cereal crops that only require a few weeks of attention per year, such tropical crops are far more labor intensive in their planting, tending, harvesting and transport. Tobacco had to be cut and dried; sugar had to be cut, cooked and refined. Whereas a grain field can be quickly harvested and dumped into a truck, harvesting and transporting bananas, for example, takes much longer. These characteristics impacted Brazil in two critical ways. First, the capital required for these plantations was so great that smallholders of the American model were largely shut out. Instead, plantations meant company towns where economic oligarchies gave birth to political oligarchies. Even in modern times, Brazil's geography continues to favor oligarchic plantation farming to family farming. At present, 85 percent of farms in the United States — a country with a reputation for factory farming — are 500 acres or fewer, whereas 70 percent of Brazilian farms are 500 acres or more. Time has not moderated this trend, but rather deepened it. In the latter half of the 20th century, Brazil launched a massive agricultural diversification effort that included the clearing of vast swaths of land in the interior, some of it in the cerrado and some as far inland as the Bolivian border. Among other agricultural products, some of these new lands were appropriate for corn and soybeans, crops normally quite amenable to farmers of a more modest capital base. But the cerrado requires massive inputs before agriculture can be attempted, and the interior lands are often in excess of 1,000 kilometers from Brazil's perennially overworked ports. The twin development and infrastructure costs wound up reinforcing the oligarchic nature of the Brazilian agricultural system to the point that the average "new" Brazilian farm is six times the size of the farms of "old" Brazil.
FAQs
U.S.-Brazil Farm Size Comparison? ›
At present, 85 percent of farms in the United States — a country with a reputation for factory farming — are 500 acres or fewer, whereas 70 percent of Brazilian farms are 500 acres or more.
What is the largest farm in the US by size? ›King Ranch is the largest ranch in the United States. At some 825,000 acres (3,340 km2; 1,289 sq mi) it is larger than both the land area of Rhode Island and the area of the European country Luxembourg.
Is farming big in Brazil? ›Brazil is a major agricultural and industrial power, and the strongest economy in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a leading producer of coffee, sugarcane, soybean, beef and poultry.
What is the average size of a farm field in the US? ›The average farm size rose from 441 acres (178 hectares) in 2017 to 463 acres (187 hectares) in 2022. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called the survey "a wake-up call" at an event at the USDA headquarters on Tuesday.
Who owns most of the farms in Brazil? ›Brazilian agro-industrialists own around 800,000 farms which occupy 75.7 percent of the nation's agricultural land, with 62 percent of total agricultural output. Further defining the inequity, the top 1.5 percent of rural landowners occupy 53 percent of all agricultural land.
Why are American farms so big? ›The rapid consolidation has meant that big farms are getting bigger while the rest go out of business, a trend consistent across the country. Many US pig farmers who can hang on do so by contracting with the biggest pork processors, like Smithfield Foods and JBS.
Where is the biggest farm in the world? ›By far, the biggest farm in the world (in terms of acreage) is the Mudanjiang City Mega Farm in Heilongjiang, China. This astounding farm manages 22,500,000 acres. The Mudanjiang City Mega Farm specializes in dairy and has around 100,000 cows.
What is the average size of a Brazilian farm? ›Even in modern times, Brazil's geography continues to favor oligarchic plantation farming to family farming. At present, 85 percent of farms in the United States — a country with a reputation for factory farming — are 500 acres or fewer, whereas 70 percent of Brazilian farms are 500 acres or more.
What are Brazil's 3 main crops? ›| Agriculture in Brazil | |
|---|---|
| Main products | Soybeans, corn, sugarcane, coffee |
| Production | |
| Grains | 322.8 million tons (2022) |
| Major products | |
Brazil is the largest country in terms of arable land, a top-5 producer of 34 agricultural commodities, and the largest agricultural net exporter.
Who owns the most farmland in the US? ›
The Land Report 100 research team analyzes transactions and scours records to determine America's leading landowners. That's how we broke the news in 2020 that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was America's largest farmland owner with more than 260,000 acres.
Which US state has the most farmers? ›While Texas has the largest number of farms, it generates less cash receipts than other states. For instance, in 2021, California produced 11.8% of cash receipts, Iowa produced 8%, Nebraska produced 6.1%, and Texas produced 5.7%.
Is 5000 acres a big farm? ›Farms and Land by Size of Farm
2 42 1 to 49 acres In 2022, the largest 2% of U.S. farms (5,000 or more acres) controlled 42% of all farmland. Conversely, 42% of farms had less than 50 acres and controlled 2% of all farmland. In 2002, the largest farms controlled 35% of all farmland.
Summary. Farmland prices have increased by large amounts over the past few years in Brazil, especially in areas used for grain production. From 2019 to 2022, the average cropland value increased 128%, from $1,875 to $4,271 per acre.
Can Americans buy farmland in Brazil? ›Foreign investors are prohibited from buying land directly and there are few publicly traded companies or funds that offer them exposure to the increase in value for farmland, especially in the country's wealthy center-west region.
What limits farming in Brazil? ›Output expansion could be limited by lack of financial resources for agricultural production, environmental regulations restricting the land expansion rate, lack of investment in infrastructure, and diseases, such as soybean rust.
How much land does Gaylon Lawrence own? ›Lawrence owned more than 165,000 acres of farmland in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi and was the owner of U.S. Airconditioning Distributors, the world's largest privately owned heating, ventilation and air conditioning distributor.
How many acres does jg boswell own? ›James Boswell II eventually expanded the family's holdings to approximately 200,000 acres, including 60,000 in the Australian outback but not including the 20,000 acres in Arizona that he sold in the late 1950s to the Del Webb Development Company. Those 20,000 acres were transformed, with Mr.
What almost 90% of U.S. farms are owned by? ›Answer. Though large corporations exert significant influence in agriculture, individual farmers still own the majority of U.S. farms. Almost 90% of U.S. farms are owned by c. individual farmers.