The classic historical study of American agricultural economic development, thoroughly revised and updated. “Not only describes but analyzes and explains the economic behavior of agriculture as a functional sector of the economy in the process of economic development. . . . There is no substitute.” --James T. Bonnen
The classic historical study of American agricultural economic development, thoroughly revised and updated. “Not only describes but analyzes and explains the economic behavior of agriculture as a functional sector of the economy in the process of economic development. . . . There is no substitute.” --James T. Bonnen
This book has a unique place in agricultural scholarship. Few others survey the entirety of American agriculture’s story, and none have Cochrane’s economic focus. . . . . Cochrane’s story and analysis will surely advance understanding of agriculture.
The classic historical study of American agricultural economic development, thoroughly revised and updated.
“Not only describes but analyzes and explains the economic behavior of agriculture as a functional sector of the economy in the process of economic development. . . . There is no substitute. [The Development of American Agriculture] is unique.” James T. Bonnen
Michigan State University
In this landmark survey of the history of American agriculture from 1607 to the present, Willard Cochrane provides a thorough analysis of U.S. agricultural development. Cochrane first offers a general history of agriculture in America and then continues with an extensive examination of the structural, political, and economic forces that have shaped American agriculture through the years. Finally he presents a thought-provoking theoretical model of agricultural development in the United States for the period 1950-90.
In addition to providing fully updated historical and statistical material, this fully revised second edition of The Development of American Agriculture emphasizes the impact of the widened international market on American agriculture and includes a new chapter on the impact of environmental policy on agricultural development. The Development of American Agriculture is an indispensable resource for anyone concerned with economic development in general and agricultural economic development in particular.
Willard W. Cochrane is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota.
This book has a unique place in agricultural scholarship. Few others survey the entirety of American agriculture’s story, and none have Cochrane’s economic focus. . . . . Cochrane’s story and analysis will surely advance understanding of agriculture.
A Good Boat Speaks for ItselfIsle Royale Fisherman and Their Boats
An intriguing account of the people, wooden boats, and folkways of this vanished community
The Backcountry and the CityColonization and Conflict in Early America
Calls for the rural electrification of early American studies
The Great Jerusalem Artichoke CircusThe Buying and Selling of the Rural American Dream
In 1981, near the end of America’s second post-World War II energy crisis, and at the onset of the nations most recent farm crisis, American Energy Farming Systems began to sell and distribute what it deemed a “providential plant” destined to be a new and saving crop—the Jerusalem Artichoke. This volume recounts this story of the bizarre intersection of evangelical Christianity, a mythical belief in the powers of a new crop, and the depression of the U.S. farm economy in the 1980s.