ENVIRON IMPACT ASSESS REV 1990;10:145-155 145 IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES: ISSUES AND PLANNING FRAMEWORKS CONTRACT FARMING AND RURAL SOCIAL CHANGE: SOME IMPLICATIONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE DAVID BURCH,* ROY E. RICKSON,** AND INARI THIEL*** Contract farming represents a significant change in the organization of farm pro- duction in both the developed and developing worlds. It integrates farmers and farm families into the wider national and global economy by separating land ownership from the power to make land-use decisions. These include cropping, use of chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers), and harvesting decisions, and are no longer the exclusive province of farm owners and operators. The primary benefit for farmers of contract farming is a reduction of economic risk, while contractors are guaranteed a steady source of supply allowing investment in large- scale processing systems. The drawback is that farm families are increasingly marginalized by contract farming. Farmers lose power by dependence upon pro- cessing companies for "inputs" and know-how. The spread of contract farming has accelerated a narrowing of the genetic base of western agriculture, which has accompanied the development and widespread use of new crop varieties. Introduction Changes in the organization of farm production have fundamentally changed rural communities (Rogers et al. 1988). Contract farming is such a change and involves a form of vertical integration in which farmers contract with food *Division of Science and Technology, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. **Division of Australian Environmental Studies, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. ***Department of Philosophy, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. © 1990 Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc. 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010 0195-9255/90/$3.50