Agricultural policy in the U.S. is examined in a metaphorical context. It is likened to securing a place at a large family dinner table. Until the early 1970s effective and relatively comprehensive agricultural policy shifts could be largely effected through the “USDA dinner table,” (and its affiliates). Today, meaningful agricultural policy is crafted and implemented at a number of other big policy tables, e.g., energy and the environment, education, health and human services.