1
|
- An analysis of the role of agriculture in US economy
|
2
|
- Favourable natural conditions
- government assistance since 1930’s
- early farming patterns set by British - large areas to private companies
- at independence all un-settled land became Federal property
|
3
|
- Land sold at $2.50 per acre
- Homestead Act 1862 allowed large areas to be settled for free
- same year saw large areas of Federal land set aside for free farming
- Endowment of colleges and universities under Morrill Act boosted
teaching of agriculture
- many freed slaves remained in south as sharecroppers at end of Civil War
|
4
|
- Plentiful food, mills, factories and shops fuelled industrialisation
- new inventions e.g iron ploughshare boosted output
- by 1860 agriculture accounted for 82% of exports
- Agriculture drove development
- farmers start to target railroads, shipping and merchants seeking better
deals
- co-operative banks formed
- 1896 backed Bryan for President - he lost
|
5
|
- First two decades a golden era for farming
- extension services, army assistance and research all provided at Federal
level
- prices fell following WW1
- by 1930’s dustbowl term familiar
- 1933 Roosevelt proposed limiting production and raising prices
- guaranteed prices and bought excesses
- Electrification extended
- new roads
|
6
|
- Technical advances financed by Federal funds
- 1954 Food for Peace programme introduced
- boosted exports
- domestic poor helped as well in Johnson’s war on poverty
- But as output rose so did cost of subsidies
- 1973 payments linked to removing some land from production
- some crops removed from subsidies
- grains, rice and cotton remain subsidised
|
7
|
- By 1980’s subsidies costing + $20,000 million p.a.
- 1983 support prices dropped and large areas taken out of farming
- make US agriculture internationally competitive
- In 1996 another large part of subsidies removed
- encourage US framers to think global
- most subsidies should have been phased out by end of 2002, though Asia
crisis delayed this
|
8
|
- Interdependence encouraged need to regulate farming across trading
countries
- should farmers be protected?
- Does this shrink international markets?
- Reduce prices and farming income?
- Increase surpluses in exporting countries?
- 1986 Uruguay Round started
- US wanted top 90 countries to gradually remove all subsidies
|
9
|
- Main US targets were EU and Japan
- Proved difficult to get agreement
- Uruguay Round finally completed in 1995, and most member states agreed
to cut farm subsidies and price controls
- Farming is big business but it continues to overproduce
- agribusiness through consolidation
- 1990 2.2 m farms averaging 190 hectares
- 1.2m employed
|
10
|
- In 1900 half US workforce was on the land. 2000= 2%
- will urban dwellers pay increased prices for food?
- Will they support large Federal government subsidies?
- Will world market emerge free of barriers?
- Perhaps the day of family farm so popular with film makers is going to
disappear?
|