ABSTRACT
Agriculture seems to be regaining pivotal importance on the domestic economic plane as well as acquiring new importance in both the economic and political areas of United States (US) external relations. The federal bureaucracy in the post-industrial US is beset by a host of new social, political, and technical problems associated with the nation's transition into what has been termed a service economy stage. Economic realities for the American farmer have immediate political repercussions which can and do outweigh almost all other policy considerations. The once politically powerful farming constituencies are losing influence in state legislatures and the national Congress and, thus, legislative relief in these areas is more difficult to obtain. The US and Canada could permit surpluses to develop but could hold and use the resulting stocks to help keep domestic prices stable, giving priority to price stability in their internal markets by limiting allowable exports of grain.
