Agriscience is facing pressure to document and contribute to student achievement in math, science, and reading. Agriscience teachers may be able to foster student reading and comprehension through utilization of research-based reading strategies to further develop literacy in and about agriculture. Building on Dunkin and Biddle's (1974) model of…

Taking into account the historic transitions and progressions in agricultural science, this article examines the emergence of the phenomenon of agricultural biotechnology. It identifies pivotal sites of tension between agricultural biotechnology and alternative approaches to agriculture. The article identifies two distinct sources of contemporary…

Several teachers at the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Belgrade recognised the need to improve teaching methods in order to actively involve students in the teaching process, help them learn more effectively, and reduce the low exam pass rate. This led to a purpose-designed course on improving academic skills, after which the author…

The intervention of the United States government in agriculture in the 20th century is an explainable response to basic characteristics of agriculture: unpredictability, immobile resources, technological changes and disproportionate supply and demand factors. The concentration of large benefits among relatively few producers and diffusion of costs…

The Nebraska LEAD Program was developed to address concerns that a gap of understanding between agricultural and other areas of Nebraska's economy could hinder the productive development of all areas. The program is designed to develop leadership through training in communication and study of state, national, and world affairs. Each year, 30…

This theme issue is devoted to the three men named Henry Wallace and the history they made for Iowa and for the United States. All of the Henrys were deeply involved in farming and all of them wrote in a magazine called "Wallaces' Farmer." All three of these men also did special work for the U.S. government. The most famous Henry, Henry…

All countries require an ample supply of water for agricultural and industrial uses. Most have sufficient water supplies, but availability and accessibility vary. With the development of water irrigation systems, health conditions often deteriorate. The author recommends a water management program to control quality and quantity of available…

Finds that the mass media, especially newspapers have an immediate, direct effect on farmers' behavior only when the content is tailored to fit the farmers' existing situation. (RB)

This report describes the United States oats industry from producers to consumers and provides a single source of economic and statistical information on oats. Background information on oats is provided first. The report then examines the basic factors of supply, demand, and price to determine what caused the decline in the importance of oats and…

Demand for agricultural commodities, particularly for basic food-stuffs, depends on a household's income, competitive prices, and a set of unique household characteristics which include tastes, location, education, family composition, and farm status. This monograph reviews disaggregated evidence at the national level on the relative contribution…

By setting current legal definitions of parity in the context of history, this report traces how the parity price and parity income concepts developed. It identifies some of the consequences of price and income parity on agricultural resource use and efficiency, on the size and structure of the agricultural sector, and on the extent of producer…

This volume describes how the statistical series on agricultural land values and on acreages of cropland and other land in the United States are constructed and used. It identifies sources of current and historical data and information used in constructing the series. The first section examines agricultural land values and rents, including…

The financial well-being of farmers varies with the local economy's dependence on farming. Farming-dependent counties (where farming contributes at least 20 percent of the county's total earnings in 1980-84), offer limited nonfarm employment opportunities. These operators earn high farm incomes but face large debts. Declining land values have…

This report is one of a series by the General Accounting Office that summarizes major policy, management, and program issues facing agency heads in the Bush administration. Many concerns have been identified, some new, others long-standing. This report on the Department of Agriculture describes concerns about the following six issues: (1)…

This report analyzes production and financial characteristics of sugar beet producers in seven regions. Section 1 examines the structural characteristics of U.S. sugar beet producers. Sugar beet production; land use, tenure, irrigation, and livestock enterprises are considered. Section 2 discusses production costs, including cost estimates,…