[Jamo]

Wes...what the hell kind of farming are you talking about?

As Dan said, the farmer (even the smallest one) is the CEO of an operation that:

...must buy seed, transplants or grafts from someone, which means companies like Monsanto or Dow and everything involved with their seed products have to compete for the business, or nurseries who grow and sell live transplants or the farm labor contractors who cut wood and utlize their skills in making successful grafts.

...must rely on transportation providers to bring them their raw materials, from the growing stock noted above to the fuel needed to operate farm machinery to packaging materials to prepare the farmer's products to market...and transportation to get the farm products to market, farmers' markets notwithstanding (small percentages).

...must rely on various labor sources to grow and cultivate and harvest the product...tractor drivers, irrigators, thin/hoe and/or contractors with the crews and equipment to harvest and pack the farm products.

...must rely on sales staff or outside brokers to sell the farm product.

...must rely on banking institutions to loan the monies needed to even plant the crops, let alone for maintaining or replacing farm equipment.

...must rely on administrative staff or outside services to run the payrolls, invoice for the products, keep track of safety and human resource trainings, etc.

In other words, just what damn planet are you talking about where farmers do everything for themselves without affecting other businesses or relying on investments in order to farm?

Before one damn seed is stuck in the ground...you need money. Hell, you can't even buy sh!t (aka manure) without money.

Yes, labor is an essential component, but it is simply one link in the chain.