Milestones in U.S. Farming and Farm Policy

U.S. agriculture underwent a tremendous transformation during the 20th century—the structure of farming and rural life today barely resembles that of the early 1900s. A comparison of six basic agricultural indicators across the century reveals a dramatic transformation of the U.S. agricultural sector. Snapshots of five points in time—1900, as the century opened; 1930, as the Depression began; 1945, as World War II ended; 1970, as the post-war economic expansion began to wane; and 2000/02, on the brink of a new century—serve to highlight key milestones of change in U.S. farming and farm policy during the 20th century.