Agriculture

Agriculture has changed dramatically, especially since the end of World War II. Food and fiber productivity soared due to new technologies, mechanisation, increased chemical use, specialisation and government policies that favoured maximising production.

These changes allowed fewer farmers with reduced  demands to produce the majority of the food and fiber in the U.S.

Although these changes have had many positive effects and reduced many risks in farming, there have also been significant costs.

Prominent among these are topsoil depletion, groundwater contamination, the decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm workers, increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities.