You may have seen stories lamenting that corporate agriculture is squeezing out the little guy.

Family farms are disappearing, the headlines tell us, leaving “factory farms” to produce the bulk of our food.

This perception is driving the public policy debate, with everyone from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to lawmakers to farm groups weighing in on how to fix it.

The reality is more complicated.

The latest Ag Census reveals that there are, indeed, fewer farmers now than there were in 2017.

But most of Arizona’s small- and mid-sized commercial farms — that is, those that grow crops or animals to sell — disappeared years ago.

Our state still has thousands of small hobby and tribal subsistence farms.

And some small- and mid-size commercial farms still produce specialty products to sell at U-picks, farmers markets or to high-end restaurants.

But it’s telling that of the 16,000 farms counted statewide, less than 200 are responsible for more than 80% of........

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