ABSTRACT
This chapter shows why the structure and position of farming in the Southern rural economy make it less vulnerable to economic downturns than other regions. It examines the competitive position of the South in terms of enterprise costs of production. Southeastern forms approximate the national average, while Southern Plains farms exceed the national average. The South is nearly folly competitive in production of most major crops and has a cost advantage in the traditional Southern crops of cotton, rice, and peanuts. The chapter presents some projections of the likely future of the structure of Southern agriculture. It aims to establish that, while the form sector in the South has some remaining financial problems to work through, the diversity of rural economies in the South and the structure of Southern farming as predominantly small, diversified farms improves its prospect measurably.
