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The curse of American agricultural abundance : a sustainable solution / Willard W. Cochrane ; with a foreword by Richard A. Levins.

By: Contributor(s): Series: Our sustainable future ; v. 16Publication details: Lincoln, Neb. : University of Nebraska Press, c2003.Description: 154 p. ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 0803215290 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 338.1/873 21
LOC classification:
  • HD1761 .C596 2003
Contents:
Prologue: Who and Why? PART 1. POLICIES OF THE MID-1900S: 1. The Case for Production Control -- 2. The Agricultural Treadmill -- 3. Farm Technology, Foreign Surplus Disposal, and Domestic Supply Control. PART 2. POLICIES FOR 2002 AND BEYOND : 4. A Food and Agricultural Policy for the Twenty-first Century -- 5. The Export Solution -- 6. Saving the Family Farm: The Case for Government Intervention -- 7. American Agricultural Abundance: Curse or Opportunity? Epilogue: The Future? Appendix: What Makes Sustainable Farms Successful?
Summary: Publisher description: Advisor to President Kennedy, consultant for foreign governments, and spokesman for family farmers everywhere, Willard W. Cochrane has been a leading expert on agriculture and its problems in the United States since the 1940s. In his straightforward style Cochrane analyzes the propensity for American agriculture to produce too much and the inability of our social and economic system to make effective use of that unending abundance. He then offers his vision for American agriculture in the twenty-first century. Cochrane looks at two periods in agricultural history: 1953-66 and 1997-2002. Structurally, technologically, and organizationally the two periods are as different as night and day, but in terms of the big economic picture-too much production pressing on a limited commercial demand with resulting low farm prices and incomes-they are mirror images of each other. With this understanding, Cochrane argues that Americans no longer need to farm fragile ecosystems with intensive chemical methods, make huge payments that result in fewer farms and higher farming costs, or bear the environmental consequences of all-out production. Instead, he outlines a bold new strategy for how we can enjoy our abundance and focus our efforts on quality of life and protecting the environment in our rural areas. About the Authors: Willard W. Cochrane is the author of numerous books, including The Development of American Agriculture: A Historical Analysis, and is the coauthor of Reforming Farm Policy: Toward a National Agenda. Richard A. Levins is a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Minnesota and the author of Willard Cochrane and the American Family Farm (Nebraska 2003).

Includes bibliographical references (p. [143]-147) and index.

Prologue: Who and Why? PART 1. POLICIES OF THE MID-1900S: 1. The Case for Production Control -- 2. The Agricultural Treadmill -- 3. Farm Technology, Foreign Surplus Disposal, and Domestic Supply Control. PART 2. POLICIES FOR 2002 AND BEYOND : 4. A Food and Agricultural Policy for the Twenty-first Century -- 5. The Export Solution -- 6. Saving the Family Farm: The Case for Government Intervention -- 7. American Agricultural Abundance: Curse or Opportunity? Epilogue: The Future? Appendix: What Makes Sustainable Farms Successful?

Publisher description: Advisor to President Kennedy, consultant for foreign governments, and spokesman for family farmers everywhere, Willard W. Cochrane has been a leading expert on agriculture and its problems in the United States since the 1940s. In his straightforward style Cochrane analyzes the propensity for American agriculture to produce too much and the inability of our social and economic system to make effective use of that unending abundance. He then offers his vision for American agriculture in the twenty-first century. Cochrane looks at two periods in agricultural history: 1953-66 and 1997-2002. Structurally, technologically, and organizationally the two periods are as different as night and day, but in terms of the big economic picture-too much production pressing on a limited commercial demand with resulting low farm prices and incomes-they are mirror images of each other. With this understanding, Cochrane argues that Americans no longer need to farm fragile ecosystems with intensive chemical methods, make huge payments that result in fewer farms and higher farming costs, or bear the environmental consequences of all-out production. Instead, he outlines a bold new strategy for how we can enjoy our abundance and focus our efforts on quality of life and protecting the environment in our rural areas. About the Authors: Willard W. Cochrane is the author of numerous books, including The Development of American Agriculture: A Historical Analysis, and is the coauthor of Reforming Farm Policy: Toward a National Agenda. Richard A. Levins is a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Minnesota and the author of Willard Cochrane and the American Family Farm (Nebraska 2003).

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