The drum beat continues. In agriculture, big is bad, and small is good. Or so we’re told.

In reality, all sizes are good. When it comes to feeding the 8.2 billion people who live on this planet, every farm and ranch is important. Large or small. Organic or biodynamic. Conventional or regenerative.

As long as they produce food — and lots of it — our hungry planet will be better off.

In some parts of the world, consumers have the luxury of choosing their food based on how it is produced. This is good. It represents a freedom that the marketplace provides.

Consumers can also buy directly from farmers or from grocery stores, whichever they prefer.

Prices also vary greatly. Some foods come at a premium, while others are more affordable. Price may not matter for some people. For many others, it is a critical factor.

But there’s another side of the food coin. For nearly 800 million people who face hunger worldwide, any food is welcome on their plate. Price is not a factor so much as availability. According to the nonprofit Action Against Hunger, 1 in 11 people go to bed hungry every night.

Do you think they would turn up their nose at food if it was grown on a large farm? Not hardly.

According to Action Against Hunger, a child dies from malnutrition every 15 seconds. That’s four per minute — a crisis anyway you look at it. Does anyone think a parent would turn down any reliable source of food?

Many farmers take a local view of food, and that is good. They serve local consumers, who seek out their crops and make a connection via farmers markets, community supported agriculture and food cooperatives. It is an excellent way to feed those who prefer buying food that way. Often, any excess goes to food banks, soup kitchens and other organizations that feed those in need.

Other farmers have more of a worldview. They know the crops they grow will go not only to local consumers but to people around the planet.

For example, most of the wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest goes to customers in the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and other nations around the world.

Similarly, about 25% of the apples grown in Washington state are exported.

This scenario is repeated for any number of commodities, from milk and cheese to berries and cherries. And for meat and potatoes.

The size of the farm or ranch they come from is inconsequential to the vast majority of folks overseas who are hungry. While some consumers are sensitive to how food is grown, most seek only to fill an empty stomach.

To feed the world, we need all farmers and ranchers to pitch in. Seen in that light, there are no bad farms.