ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the historical patterns of change in agriculture in the United States. It provides a context for understanding the trends and effects delineated in the remainder of the text. Technological developments in agriculture have progressively replaced human labor in the production process, and have made it possible for an individual farm operator to cultivate many times the number of acres cultivated by earlier producers. The selected have been widely identified as among the most significant in shaping the structure of agriculture in the United States and those deemed to be most crucial to determining producers' potential to respond to the crisis. The declining number of farms in the United States has also led to a rapid decline in the farm population. Although the importance of part-time farming has increased throughout the country, it is more prevalent in some parts of the country than in others and is especially important among particular segments of the farm population.
