An exception is small scale local artisanal natural/organic market gardens and family farms that rely on skilled hand labor almost exclusively. You will never and should never consider replacing that with automation and machines. The quality products made available to the public from these operations benefit from the extra attention to detail and experience gained from a lifetime spent in this type of agriculture, sometimes called peasant farming. If you want to know more about peasant sovereignty read the following:
Peasant Sovereignty?
http://www.independentsciencenews.org/environment/peasant-so...
By Evaggelos Vallianatos
See also: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture Permaculture