Table 3.7 also shows the difference

Table 3.7 also shows the difference between the elasticity of demand for the product as a whole and that for an individual producer of the product. While the elasticity of demand for many agricultural products is inelastic or less than 1 in absolute value, the elasticities of demand for individual producers are extremely large, ranging from –500 to –21,000. Farming can be considered a perfectly competitive industry, given the huge elasticities of demand for the individual producers of farm products. This is why we use the infinitely elastic or horizontal demand curve to portray the individual firm in perfect competition and the downward sloping demand curve for the output in the entire market.