I worry about this too. The big difference between row crop and livestock is the livestock has the ability to be concentrated therefore pushing out the small guys as who wants to deal with 20 farmers when you can just deal with one. Row crop, not so much. I think the way it evolves is through "partnering". We already see this with the big players. DuPont Pioneer buying MapShots and using that to build a system that "helps" the farmer manage his inputs. As farms get larger this is going to become much more important. I had thought that they were getting in bed with Deere but now I'm not so sure. But as these partnerships become more common it is going to become more difficult (costly) to "mix and match" and we will have to "throw in" with a system because the discounts will penalize "out of network" purchases. I haven't yet figured how the grain companies will enter the partnership but as crops become more specialized it may be that certain regions of the country will have incentives for a particular buyer to specialize in handling that particular crop.

As far as the land ownership goes, I see farmland REITs becoming a major force within 30 years. There is just too many dollars looking for a steady real return and farmland (as of today) has been and looks to be the place to invest those dollars.