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Well, for example, while the price of goods such as cereal, bread and such has gone up along with inflation, the price of wheat per bushel hasn't changed (even with inflation) since the 1970's. The companies, rather than increase what they pay on, say wheat, have mostly just increased wages for their own workers. Which means that small farms really can't compete unless they are part of a cooperative (the big cooperative in Vermont that actually works pretty well is Cabot). And the cooperatives have a hard time competing with Canadian prices--Canadian farmers are fully subsidized by their government. But rather than try and buy US products, a lot of US food companies, naturally, go for the cheaper Canadian products. It's a complicated issue that can't just be blamed on the farmers--it's a whole rash of failed agricultural programs and a fair amount of royal screwings over by the industrial food producers.