ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an orientation on changes in US and southern agriculture during the twentieth century. It shows sane mid-twentieth century trends and tendencies according to various organizational features of US and southern agricultural structure. The chapter discusses the dimensions of agricultural structure which appear fairly persistent through recent decades. The nation's agricultural structure may continue to sustain an increasing proportion of its population—and that of other countries—or could bring unprecedented catastrophe if it failed. Agricultural structure may be viewed in scale of farm operations, types of farm ownership, types of farm operation, operator characteristics, and labor resources—human, machine, and financial--of farms. With the exception of California, where all three dimensions are common, small agriculture falls mainly in the eastern US, large farm agriculture pushes through the Midwest, and corporate-commercial agriculture scatters into the West. From long term trends to the present conditions via recent trends, changes in agricultural structure can be visualized.
