Factory Farm, or Fallacy Farm? The general public often calls today’s animal production operations “factory farms.” Despite the association with animal feeding operations, the term “factory farm,” was first coined by historian Hiram Drache, referring to “bonanza farms,” or large-scale farms that used steam-powered machinery to harvest crops, not animals. They used machinery, and were efficient and skillfully managed much like factories were, thus Drache called them factory farms (Fitzgerald 15-16). Before the 1920’s, there was very little machination in farming (Fitzgerald 17). So how did America go from little mechanization, to “factory farms?” During World War I, there was a large boom in farming, and people were buying up over-priced land in the West. …show more content…
Farmers went bankrupt, and their problems became the bankers’, the insurance companies’, and the USDA’s (Fitzgerald 22). People blamed the farmers “for using inefficient methods, for being stuck in old-fashioned practices and attitudes, and for being undercapitalized and overconfident (Fitzgerald 20-21).” Critics pointed to a “factory” business model for farmers (Fitzgerald 21). They wanted farmers to take a more strategic, well thought-out and executed approach, and to do things more efficiently and cost-effectively, like the successful factories they saw in the cities. A new, educated generation emerged from agricultural colleges and breathed new life into the way we farm, and agriculture has made leaps and bounds since (Fitzgerald 22). According to the National Conference of State Legislature, “the specialization and industrialization of American agriculture during the past several decades has resulted in an increased number of agricultural facilities that house and feed a large number of animals in a confined area” ("Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations"). These are known as Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs), or, in some cases if they meet the qualifications, Concentrated