ABSTRACT
Much of the success of American agriculture is due to agricultural research. Inflation, high interest rates, inheritance tax laws, FHA regulations, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, and our national cheap food policy are all barriers to entering and leaving farming. EPA regulations are becoming increasingly more difficult to cope with and discourage many young people from even thinking of farming. Rural America means the urban population that has moved to the less-populated areas of the US from all socioeconomic levels and who most likely have never farmed and never will. Rural America also says one-half of the maternal deaths occur in rural areas. Government regulations and inflation have had a strong influence on the farm-input-supply system. Labor costs have spiraled, inventory taxes have prevented smaller manufacturers and suppliers from keeping a full inventory; land costs have spiraled and it is becoming more difficult to obtain necessary capital.
