The Family Farm.

Farming has always held a special, and unusual, place in America. Thomas Jefferson's perhaps naive view of the farmer as a virtuous citizen who served as the cornerstone of the republic has been preserved in the American national culture. The romantic image of the farm family working the soil is not the only reason for the prominence of farming in American society. Taken as a whole, agriculture is the nation's largest industry. More people work in businesses related to agriculture than in steel and automobile manufacturing combined. During the 1980s agriculture accounted for 20 percent of the gross national product but also faced a serious crisis.

Boom and Bust.

The history of American agriculture during the 1970s and 1980s is the reverse of what is typically expected. The 1970s were boom times for farmers, while in the 1980s farmers faced a severe...