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Farm Size and Rural Communities: Some Economic Relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Gerald Marousek
Gerald Marousek*
Affiliation:
University of Idaho
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Extract

Although American agriculture has been adopting new technology for more than 100 years, the rate of adoption has greatly accelerated in recent decades. This technological revolution has resulted in important changes in rural America. Mesthene [12] points out the impact of technological change on society; Donaldson and Mclnerney [6] examine the impact of machinery technology on agricultural adjustment.

When farms increase in size and decrease in number, employment opportunities in agriculture are reduced [1]. This change, in turn, affects the viability of towns in farming areas, as shown by Heady and Sonka [8] and by Hamilton, Peterson, and Reid [7]. Changes in agricultural technology, in farm size, and in farm-oriented towns have major economic and social effects on rural communities. Beale [2] documents recent demographic changes and Brinkman [3] discusses the impact on the rural sector of transition to an urban society.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , December 1979 , pp. 57 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1979

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References

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