You'd be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) about just how widespread ignorance is on these topics, even among Freepers and even among rural people, who should know better.
What you said about chickens especially holds true. We're fortunate to have access to Amish raised chickens here in this part of Pennsylvania, but most of what is sold has either the Purdue or Tyson label on it. It is not just the uniform tastelessness of the meat which bothers us, but also knowing the conditions under which it is raised and processed.
My Dad used to collect blood samples from poultry plants all over eastern North Dakota and NW Minnesota as part of his job. We raised free range chickens (back before the term was even popular) and would only send them to a Mennonite family owned plant which always exceeded the inspection requirements. Our chickens were a combination of hearty Asiatic breeds (cochins) and crested breeds (Polish) which were especially adapted to winters in that part of the country. We sold a lot of meat (at a premium) to people who appreciated the difference and a lot of breeding stock to hobbyists who wanted to get in on the action.
There still wasn't enough money in it back then to make it any more than a side income.
Most of farming is “side income” today. We have people here who work 12-15 sections in wheat. Some cotton farmers work 1,000-1,500 acres. Some peanut farmers work 600 or more acres in peanuts. All of it needs to be rotated, especially the peanuts.
Those boring with a big auger take huge risks and have huge bank notes. High risk with high potential rewards, sometimes mother nature surprises you and the crops fail. When they do it takes years to recover, if ever.
In my opinion the diversified low risk approach is more sane. And companies who practice that survive.