Problems of Plenty

by R. Douglas Hurt

"Great scientific and technological breakthroughs in the twentieth century enabled American farmers to produce bountiful harvests that ensured an abundant and relatively cheap food supply. But this agricultural wealth had its problems. As farmers became more productive, their surplus commodities - such as grain, milk, and cotton - glutted the market and drove prices down. With few exceptions, and despite their increased productivity, farmers found it difficult to earn an adequate standard of living." "These are the fundamental developments that Douglas Hurt traces in Problems of Plenty, a compact narrative history of American agriculture over the last century. Mr. Hurt shows how farm men and women looked more and more to the federal government - for technical information to help them become more productive and more profitable; for regulation of business practices to guarantee them equitable treatment in the marketplace; for intervention in the agricultural economy to support prices and