Farmers are facing a cost squeeze as seeds, fertilizers, machinery and land become more expensive. In Canada, the value of machinery per farm rose from $213 in 1901 (roughly $8,000 in today’s dollars) to more than $278,000 in 2016 — a 35-fold increase even after inflation.

To stay competitive and to cover rising costs, farmers are being forced to produce more and reinvest in land and technologies simply to stay afloat. In my recently published research, I argue that many farms have to keep getting bigger just to survive, and that this growth imperative is unsustainable, for the environment and for farmers themselves.

To understand this pattern, I looked at long-term Canadian farm financial data and used Québec cranberry production as a case study to see how rising costs, reinvestment, farm expansion and environmental damage are connected.

Two forces are driving the squeeze

Two structural factors explain how farmers got here.

The first is corporate concentration. The food system is now controlled by a small number of powerful companies. Four firms control around 60 per cent of the global seed market and five Canadian grocery chains capture close to 80 per cent of food retail sales.

Because of this concentration, farmers are squeezed from both sides. Powerful input suppliers charge high prices, while retailers add a long list of retail fees. Fresh-produce listing fees can reach $6,000 per product item.

The second force is what economists call the “agricultural treadmill.” A new technology may initially allow early adopters to lower costs, secure processor contracts and raise their income. But once many farms adopt it, total production rises, prices fall and........

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