Agricultural Change

Abstract

The agriculture of the industrial countries has changed significantly and rapidly over the past half century. Farming is not what it used to be. Mechanical power has replaced animal power almost everywhere. This transition was completed during the 1970s. The self-contained farm is a thing of the past in the industrial regions of the world; in a number of countries the value of purchased inputs (other than labour) exceeds half of the gross value of output. Farming has become a highly sophisticated production process, depending on fertilizers, tractors, electric motors, hydraulic devices, air conditioning, pesticides, herbicides, vitamins, antibiotics, synthetic proteins and, to an increasing degree, computers. The management of such enterprises requires a high degree of flexibility and intelligence and a great deal of detailed knowledge of prices and production alternatives.