Small farmers are a diverse group, ranging from part-time hobbyists with good off-farm jobs to full-time operators. General rural development policies, rather than traditional farm policies, may be the best method to help those small farmers who earn insufficient income. (JHZ)

A new era of farming is evolving in Kentucky. Resulting primarily from the loss of medium-sized operations, there has been a decline in the total number of farms. The real value of farmland dropped 16% in Kentucky between 1981 and 1985. More farmers are seeking off-farm employment in order to continue family operations. Similarly, more farmers…

In the six-state region of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, 182 counties have been identified as having an agriculturally based economy. Characteristics of these counties have been identified using data from the U.S. Census and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Agriculturally based counties have lost…

Knowledge of major economic forces shaping the future of rural America provides insights about the likely importance and effectiveness of various broad program alternatives as components of a rural development policy. The rural economic base was transformed during the 1960s and 1970s from a primary dependence on natural resource activities,…

Numbering approximately 62,005 and representing 15.3% of the total Alaska population in 1975, Alaska Natives are a finite and predominately rural subpopulation. However, a significant portion of the Alaska Native Work Force (estimated at 13,854) now resides in the major urban areas and is available to the Statewide Work Force. Statistics from May,…

Developing nations could greatly improve the quality of life in rural areas by adequately involving women in agricultural extension and training programs. Policy objectives of many developing countries neglect the contributory role of girls and women and often constrain them from seizing opportunities for individual development. In Nigeria, the…

The U.S. agricultural labor market is already, in many respects, a binational one, and it will become increasingly one in which workers who are born in Mexico will follow a variety of worklife trajectories that take them back and forth between both countries. Recognition of this reality has important implications for policy development and program…