Mariola to speak about farms at WCPL

Matthew Mariola, associate professor and program chair of environment studies at The College of Wooster, will address the decades-long concern for the decline of small family farms fueled by the economies of scale and low crop prices on Thursday, April 3 from 7-8 p.m. at the Wayne County Main Library on Liberty Street in Wooster.

Farms continue to get larger on average, and more food continues to be produced by larger farms. Yet 96% of all farms are classified as family farms by the USDA — even really big ones. In this talk Mariola will provide some basic statistics about small farms, large farms, family farms and agricultural sales to create a discussion about small family farming and whether anything can be done to stop the decline.

The event is free but RSVP at www.wcpl.info and click Events or call 330-262-0916.