Farmers in America's Heartland are paying increasing attention to emerging trends of consolidation of farm firms, contractual and ownership linkages across input suppliers/processor and farm firms, and strategic partnering across the stages of food production, processing, and the firms that do business with farmers. The papers contained in this conference proceedings provide an overview of industrialization, and addresses its causes and consequences for producers, rural communities, food firms, and their customers. Industrialization holds different meaning, implications, and opportunities for different people.