For several decades the concept of small scale farming has virtually been non- existent in this country as industrial farming has taken over. The only real problem with this industrial farming is that it has driven the spot price of many commodities on the market to the point where the farmers are paying significantly more to grow their crops than they can sell them for. The other side of the coin is that commercial farming is being held responsible for the dramatically reduced quality of our food supply.

The answer to this is a return to small scale farming and the movement is rapidly growing with more urban and small farms popping up every month. For those seeking an alternative to playing the commodities market where live commodity prices are often fixed in order to ensure that certain countries profit more than others, investing in these small farms is becoming not only popular but often quite profitable. According to SPIN Farming it is quite possible to see a $50,000 profit from a half acre farm.

For the general global market, the demand for more produce that comes from small scale farms has created all new commodities to trade in and the stakes are high. Not only are individual consumers demanding higher quality foods, there are numerous major firms that are slowly joining the fold as they recognize their consumers demands and jostle to be in the right position to take advantage of the situation.

This need does put the small scale farmer much more in control of how much he will get paid for his crops, this is good for both the farmer and the investor to a point, at least until the cost of the crop from the farmer edges up to the point where the consumer will not be quite so willing to pay the final price. At this point the market can become stagnant and begin to drop off its peak. The demand for small scale farming is currently growing and as such commodity prices today are expected to continue to rise until the point that there are sufficient farms to meet the needs.

Smart investors are not only investing in the crops grown on these small farms, but are learning to invest in the farms themselves. This double edged investment practice is paying high dividends currently and unless something major happens it will continue to do so. The only real problem may occur when small countries such as Brazil begin to destroy more rain forests in order to make more room for farming; here they must learn to use sustainable farming methods to keep the viability of the land they have intact, something many small countries are still struggling with as they attempt to implement policies that encourage small scale farming.