A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929 Hardcover - 2008

Agriculture has undergone more fundamental changes in the past eighty years than in its entire previous history. A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929 charts the profound changes in farming that have occurred during author Paul K. Conkin's lifetime, and delves into the new issues that have arisen as a result of this progress. His personal experiences growing up on a small Tennessee farm complement compelling statistical data as he explores America's vast agricultural transformation and considers its social, political, and economic consequences. He examines the history of American agriculture, showing how New Deal innovations evolved into convoluted commodity programs following World War II. Conkin also assesses the skills, new technologies, and government policies that helped transform farming in America and suggests how new legislation might affect farming in decades to come. A Revolution Down on the Farm evaluates farming in the twenty-first century and offers a distinctive meditation on alternatives to the present large scale, mechanized, subsidized, and natural resource-dependent system.Paul K. Conkin, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Vanderbilt University, is the author of numerous books, including The State of the Earth: Environmental Challenges on the Road to 2100, The Southern Agrarians, and When All the Gods Trembled: Darwinism, Scopes, and American Intellectuals.