Editing Rural flight (section)

===Since World War II===
{{Blockquote|"Women leave in greater numbers than men. There is a glass ceiling for women everywhere, but in rural areas it tends to be made of thick steel." ''Hiroya Masuda, author of Japanese report on rural depopulation.''<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/06/29/rural-areas-bear-the-burden-of-japans-ageing-shrinking-population |title = Rural areas bear the burden of Japan's ageing, shrinking population|newspaper = The Economist|date = 29 June 2019}}</ref>}}

Post-World War II rural flight has been caused primarily by the spread of [[industrialized agriculture]]. Small, labor-intensive [[family farms]] have grown into, or have been replaced by, heavily mechanized and specialized industrial farms. While a small family farm typically produced a wide range of crop, garden, and animal products—all requiring substantial labor—large industrial farms typically specialize in just a few crop or livestock varieties, using large machinery and high-density livestock containment systems that require a fraction of the labor per unit produced. For example, [[Iowa State University]] reports the number of [[hog farmer]]s in Iowa dropped from 65,000 in 1980 to 10,000 in 2002, while the number of hogs per farm increased from 200 to 1,400.<ref name="ISU 1">{{cite web  |url=http://www.card.iastate.edu/iowa_ag_review/summer_03/article1.aspx| title=Living with Hogs in Rural Iowa| year=2003| work=Iowa Ag Review| publisher=[[Iowa State University]]| access-date=25 November 2009}}</ref>

The consolidation of the feed, seed, [[processed grain]], and livestock industries has meant that there are fewer small businesses in rural areas. This decrease in turn exacerbated the decreased demand for labor. Rural areas that used to be able to provide employment for all young adults willing to work in challenging conditions, increasingly provide fewer opportunities for young adults. The situation is made worse by the decrease in services such as schools, business, and cultural opportunities that accompany the decline in population, and the increasing age of the remaining population further stresses the social service system of rural areas.