ABSTRACT
This chapter examines selected factors which contribute to lower levels of economic well-being among black farm households and which threaten the future of blacks in production agriculture. It focuses on characteristics of black formers and their farms in the South, and on population characteristics of five Southeastern states in which black farmers are found to be primarily concentrated (Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina). Consistent with historical trends, blacks in the rural South continue to be plagued by lower levels of income and higher rates of poverty than the population in general. The economic well-being of black families in the rural South has been the focus of a number of studies. The strategies for enhancing levels of economic well-being most often pursued by farmers include increasing farm-generated income and supplementing farm-generated income with income from off-farm employment. The marginal economic condition of most black-operated forms also affects parental expectations and aspirations for their children.
