ABSTRACT
A dramatic restructuring of the farm sector has been underway since World War II. This restructuring is evident to the most casual observer throughout many parts of the rural Midwest. Restructuring of farming also has brought fundamental changes in the organization and control of production. Many analysts argue that a dualistic farming system has emerged in the postwar period. The financial "crisis" of the 1980s rocked public complacency about farm restructuring. Americans were confronted with the fact that bucolic notions of farm life did not match the actual hardships and that the Jeffersonian ideal of family farming was shattered. An important question is the financial status, including loan delinquency and rejection rates as well as solvency, of Midwestern farm enterprises at the close of the crisis. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
