ABSTRACT
This chapter examines ways in which US agriculture was shaped by and integrated into the larger US industrial economy in the post-war period. It outlines several important facets of global restructuring and how they are likely to influence the future of US agriculture and discusses the implications of these dimensions of change. US agriculture experienced a long-term expansion after World War II. Productivity surged as waves of new technologies were incorporated into agricultural production. Advanced technology is an important variable in the restructuring equation. New technologies can reinvigorate the competitiveness of declining industries and provide new opportunities for economic growth through development of new industries and commercial products. The crisis in the US industrial economy has been attributed to a lack of flexibility in adjusting production to shifts in the composition of consumer demand. The success of the post-war US industrial economy depends upon the acceptance and consumption of a relatively narrow variety of standard goods by the US public.
