Not even they are rich. Most “”“family”“” farms in the US are actually owned by one of five companies, like Monsanto, Tyson, etc., and in many cases the families that manage those farms owe somewhere in the ballpark of $1m to their employer company with high interest rates and contractual obligations. Farmer Joe almost never truly owns their equipment, but rather the company or a bank owns it. The typical Farmer Joe takes home somewhere around $20k/year for their family.

Those Farmer Joes that aren’t trapped in contracts with the predatory corporations that buy everyone out get stuck in lawsuit after lawsuit, since those companies hold exclusive patents on countless seed varieties. If even one seed is found on your land as an independent farmer, you’ll get sued. So if your neighbor is planting those seeds, and the wind blows, and rainwater washes a seed over, and yes, those companies inspect hard, you’ll possibly be forced off your farm from lawsuits and bankruptcy, so then that company can come in and buy your land and property at foreclosure rates, or force you into a predatory contract with them if you don’t want to move off the property with nothing to your name.

I am not trying to downplay the plight migrant workers face, but a grand majority of Farmers Joes don’t actually own their means of production. For that you need to look at companies like Monsanto, Tyson, Del monte, Dole, etc.