Corporates with money and technology could be on their way to dominating the US agricultural industry. The once-beleaguered Olam International is supplying seeds and machinery, and even doing some planting of its own.
It is a warm September afternoon and Ronnie Lee’s peanut harvester is throwing up dust as he manoeuvres it up and down the rows of upturned peanut plants on his field. The 62-year-old Lee and his three sons run Lee Farms, one of the largest farms in Bronwood, in the south of Georgia. More than half of the family’s 9,000 acres are planted with cotton, while a third is split between peanuts and pecans. The Lees also plant corn, rear cattle and produce hay.
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Lee didn’t always have so much land. When he started farming nearly 30 years ago, he had less than 40 acres. Over time, he acquired or leased land from his neighbours. Now, he even farms some land belonging to Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the US. The key to his success in expanding his farming business has been a willingness to take a risk on bigger and better machinery to work his land.
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