For those of us in the local food movement, size does seem to matter when it comes to farms and ranches.  Smaller, family-operated farms are the darlings of the burgeoning farm-to-fork effort - and with good reason.  Smaller farms and ranches are closer to their markets, meaning they can often pick fruits and vegetables at peak ripeness.  Smaller operations can afford to grow unique heirloom varieties and crops that supermarkets don't know how to market.  These small farms and ranches are mainstays at our local farmers' markets.

Despite these many benefits, economic viability continues to be challenging for many small farms and ranches.  As I think about these challenges, I'm beginning to realize that biology plays a role in farm viability and scale of operation.  After all, a farmer can only grow such much kale on an acre of farmland!  And farm income is directly related to crop yield - even with high value crops.

For a more technical discussion of these issues, I encourage you to check out the latest post in our Farming in the Foothills blog!