- 著者
-
内山 智裕
- 出版者
- 日本農業経営学会
- 雑誌
- 農業経営研究 (ISSN:03888541)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.48, no.4, pp.36-45, 2011-03-25 (Released:2015-03-20)
- 参考文献数
- 26
- 被引用文献数
-
1
This study revealed that there is no definite line of demarcation between "corporate farming" and "family farming." A lot of networking organizations and franchise organizations are observed in "family farms." Simultaneously, there are few cases of "corporate farming" that have absolutely no family elements. Nevertheless, across countries and regions, almost all farm businesses share features of both "somewhat familial" and "somewhat business-oriented."In the USA, there are arguments for and against "corporate farming", and some states restrict corporations from entering farming by prohibiting them from acquiring farmland. The main reasons against "corporate farming" are concerns about (1) a decrease in the number of family farms, (2) rural economy decline, (3) monopolistic and oligopoly markets, (4) environmental impacts, and (5) animal welfare. However, in fact, a main cause for these changes could well be technological changes, while "corporate farming" may not always be the main cause. On the other hand, a vital condition for "corporate farming" in crop production is economies of scale, with a previous study suggesting that economies of scale have been observed in very large family farms, and thus the viability of non-family corporate farming may be verified even in the USA. Another issue being discussed is the definition of "family farm." If the definition is changed with respect to land ownership, labor and farm size, the number of farms that could be classified as "family farm" would be limited substantially.When "corporate farming" and "family farming" are considered, family business studies should be focused. Family business studies observe any firms that are owned in some form on a family-basis, and explore the issues including governance through family and business succession. Farm businesses and family businesses have a lot in common, such as their attitudes to enhance their relationship with the local community. It will become important to consider the viability of farm business development by applying the concept of family business studies.In crop production, it is anticipated that the mainstream of farm businesses will be based on family farms, at least for the time being, and the conditions for increased non-family corporate farming are limited. Therefore, in farm business management studies, it is important to contribute to the development of sustainable business models in any farm businesses that are operated with sincerity. It is also a vital effort to accumulate studies to solve urgent problems in "farm family businesses," including farm succession, family governance, and obtaining business resources in order to put "corporate farming" in perspective.