(Loren, this is more of me bridging off of your excellent point, not an attempt to weaken your argument.) Mass consolidation is one near-inevitability in any industry.  If left unchecked, the end result is usually either a monopoly or oligopoly.  This is because the fastest, biggest and strongest consume the weaker...that is social/economic Darwinism.  However, the fundamental difference between crop agriculture and say, hogs, is that buildings can be built, and more animals can be born, but land is a finite asset.  It is THE key asset, obviously.  And, there is so much of it that it is a near-impossibility for one group, consortium or producer to possibly control it all.  In my mind, it is fear that drives the heated responses regarding Mr. Rosentreter, and not any sort of rational understanding that in the grand scheme of things, most producers will be okay.  The industry is changing - for better or worse. 

I suspect that the principals of ILLFF might actually be okay people, and might actually mean what they say about wanting to remain in business.  Whether any of us like it or not, consolidation will continue.  Mr. Rosentreter obviously has chosen to answer that problem by forming his partnership around people and principles that he believes will work.  It might, and it might not.  What I do know is that fifty years of government subsidization (enacted to keep food prices down, and politicians in office) has put off the inevitable evolution of a mature industry.  Is it fair?  Who's to say what is fair?  If ILLFF really is ahead of the curve on the trends, and is working hard to be viable, isn't the right answer to learn from their successes and failures and adopt what ultimately works?  Or is the answer to grouch about "unfair" practices on the internet, rather than examining one's own business for areas of improvement? 

I am familiar with many successful farms (of all stripes), and the truth is that the majority of them got there by intelligent application of labor, resources and business principals.  They were ahead of their times, in an industry that all too often remains tied to the past.  Example...most people crucify Monsanto or Pioneer for their tech fees and "exorbitant" per-bag price for GM corn.  That doesn't stop most of the same producers from planting the same corn in their fields, and enjoying record-breaking yields nearly every year.  I guess their evil, price-gouging hybrids are better than 100 year-old corn breeding techniques after all.  What would happen to all of us if everyone stopped pushing the envelope and innovating, because others were upset at their success?

That doesn't address the supposed "morality" of farming big, but that's probably an issue best left between a man and his God, hm?  I'd rather know a man, and judge him by my own eyes, than cast anonymous bombs at his character over the internet.  So ILLFF took ground from you, or a neighbor, or a friend?  Does griping change anything - once your tantrum is done, do they still have the ground?  There is a fundamental difference between a man who sees another's success and hates him for it, and the man who seeks to learn and compete.  Mr. Rosentreter, the Boogeyman of New AgTalk, probably is the man he is today because some other big farmer rolled him once or twice (after all, he is from Racehorse Flats, and thus far is still the third-largest farmer in the area).  And, I suspect that his influence, tactics and mentality will breed other competitors who may yet out-prosper him.  He claims that he wants to allow his kids and family members to continue farming in twenty or thirty years, so he is laying the groundwork for their success now.  I'd say, in all fairness, he's doing just that.