Introduction

Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country, and wedded to its liberty and interests, by the most lasting bonds. Agriculture in America has never been a static undertaking. The subsistence farms of the earliest settlers were quickly transformed into exporters of excess production to eastern cities. Economics "is concerned with the way resources are allocated among alternative uses to satisfy human wants," and a resource is "a thing or service used to produce goods (or services) which can satisfy human wants". Agricultural land is a prominent resource whose alternative uses include production of food and fiber, production of wildlife, as a building site for homes, factories and roads, and as green space or a pleasing view.