In western Canada homesteaders were given a quarter section each to farm. That's 1 quarter of a square mile or 160 acres if it was all farmable which it seldom is due to ponds/creeks etc.

When I was growing up we visited the farm where my mom grew up and my uncle and grandfather still farmed. By that point they were farming 4-5 sections, so land that 20 families originally homesteaded 2500-3000 acres.

My uncles younger son still farm's there now, but with modern equipment and a big team seasonally he is cultivating over 15000 acres of wheat/canola/lentils which translates to land that originally over 100 families homesteaded.

Farms don't have to be THAT big to be economical but at least here you probably need to farm a few thousand acres to be able to to afford modern equipment.