E. Thomas Kemp has an article up on his blog commenting on the nature of modern food production:

The reality of modern food production is consolidation. In 1980, the US had 334,000 dairy farms. We now have 60,000. This means that most of the milk we consume, including “organic” milk comes from large scale factory farms. This consolidation is going on in all areas of food production, from produce to pigs. Control of the food market by large companies permits them to set the prices paid to producers, making it impossible for small producers to compete.

Thomas has written a number of entries related to CAFOs and food production in our area, and has his finger on the pulse of the practices of agribusiness in the region.