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UK Farmers: Crisis Point?
Farm Size Matters in the UK and France
You may feel that this is in sharp contrast with France, where farmers have the support of the French consumer and public at large. Observers point to the fact that French law traditionally ensured that large tracts of land were pided amongst family members, whereas British inheritance law involved passing the whole of an estate to the eldest son.
After the second world war, the French tried to encourage people to amalgamate small strips of farmland into larger areas. This was an attempt to benefit from some of the economies of scale that their British counterparts enjoyed. Economies of scale mean that average cost is lower for higher levels of output. This is shown in the diagram below.
However, it remains the case that farming in France tends to be characterised by smaller scale enterprises, often bound together in cooperatives. As such, French farming has the support of the French people because it is seen as being local, small-scale and 'belonging' to the people. This is not to mention the French and their belief in and love of cuisine.
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