"Making Small Farms into Big Businesses"

I recently read the South Carolina Department of Agriculture's "Making Small Farms into Big Business". The report outlined the steps to rapidly rebuilding South Carolina's agriculture industry, a process which Hugh Lane claimed to be potentially dangerous if South Carolinians do so without closely monitoring the supply and demand.
We can only hope for such rapid development in South Carolinian agriculture. Many believe that it is possible with the goals expressed in this report, being the push for the establishment of more statewide food nodes and food hubs, the push for more grants for farmer development, the extension of programs such as the Dirt Works Incubator farm for new and beginning farmers, and more.
I would like to devote this blog to the clarification of 3 particular terms that were highlighted in this report, terms that I believe will become much more common due to the rapidly changing world of agriculture.

What is a small farm?
"A small farm cannot be defined simply by either its acreage or the amount of food it sells. A small farm is one that participates directly in efforts that create new, relational commerce, and strategic partnerships trading locally produced food."

What is a food production node?
A food production node is "a cluster of farms in close proximity to each other, working in collaboration and using common food production infrastructure."

What is a food hub?
"A food hub is more of a regional facility that focuses on aggregation and distribution of local foods for larger markets, such as restaurants, grocery stores, educational institutions, or wholesalers."