William J. Spillman and the Birth of Agricultural Economics by
William J. Spillman (1863-1931), considered the founder of agricultural economics, was a scientist and popular agricultural educator for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As the author of more than three hundred articles and four books, Spillman left a lasting mark on American agriculture during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with his pioneering solutions for the problems of overproduction and low prices. Spillman grew up in Lawrence County, Missouri, and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Missouri in Columbia. In this biography, Laurie Winn Carlson looks at Spillman's career as he moved from Missouri to Washington, D.C., where his concepts shaped what became the agricultural New Deal and, eventually, the current farm allotment programs. By placing Spillman's story within the larger context of American agricultural history, Carlson takes readers inside the USDA during the years our nation's agricultural policy took shape. She studies the development of the field of genetics, the conflicts regarding agricultural education and the creation of the Cooperative Extension Service, the overproduction crisis after World War I and Spillman's ideas for allotment, and the commercial fertilizer industry and the Law of Diminishing Returns. She also looks at efforts to restrict research, the censorship of publications directed toward farmers, and personal rivalries within the USDA. This examination of agriculture through Spillman's eyes reveals that industrialized agriculture was not inevitable but a carefully crafted ideology that farmers were pushed to embrace. Although highly contested by farmers as well as employees within the USDA, industry, government, politics, and technology, industrialized agriculture moved people off the land, replacing them with large-scale mechanized production. An iconoclast within the USDA bureaucracy, Spillman was a "farm evangelist," taking his message of diversified farming across the country. He believed that farmers should integrate livestock and rotate crops, rather than continue the monoculture production that was evolving due to the increasing industrialization of farming. Those issues, as well as the Law of Diminishing Returns, sustainability, and popular education, all matters to which Spillman devoted his career, are more important today than ever.
Agricultural Standards by
Food and agricultural standards have recently risen to the top of both national and international agendas. Popular concerns about the power of the World Trade Organization focus on the intertwined relationships between environmental protection, labor and human rights, and the standards used to produce and supply our food and fiber globally. In the developing world, agricultural grades and standards are an important part of the reconfiguration of roles and responsibilities between various public and private actors in market reform. This original and informative collection of studies of agri-food standards in the modern economy addresses these and helps to define the scope of the emerging study of the politics of standards setting. Following an overview essay dealing with the multiple ways of thinking about, approaching and defining food and agricultural standards, eleven case studies offer a rich body of evidence that assesses the processes, dynamics and potential consequences of global agri-food standards. For all interested in the strategic use of food and agricultural standards - from those in national and international governmental agencies, researchers and others in the academic and private sector to those in the private business sector - this volume offers a broader perspective on and will serve as an important resource.
Agricultural Economics: New Research by
Agricultural economics originally applied the principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock -- a discipline known as agronomics. Agronomics was a branch of economics that specifically dealt with land usage. It focused on maximising the yield of crops while maintaining a good soil ecosystem. Throughout the 20th century the discipline expanded and the current scope of the discipline is much broader. Agricultural economics today includes a variety of applied areas, having considerable overlap with conventional economics. This new book focuses on new research from around the world.
Genetically Modified Organisms in Agriculture by
Genetically modified crops have become a topic of great interest among scientists, regulators, consumers, farmers, and politicians. Despite their potential benefits, public hostility toward these crops is causing dramatic changes to import/export policies, food safety regulations, and agricultural practices around the world. Genetically Modified Organisms in Agriculture provides a comprehensive overview of the subject and a balanced look at the costs and benefits of GMO products. Part I reviews the scientific, economic, and political issues relating to the use of agricultural GMOs. Chapters cover specific applications, regulatory concerns, import/export patterns, international trade issues, and a discussion of future trends. Part II offers a unique look at all sides of the GMO controversies, with short chapters contributed by leading individuals with widely different perspectives. Part III presents a more in-depth look at selected issues plus helpful reference materials. This book makes the latest information on GMOs accessible to all interested parties, including students, laypeople, scientists, activists, and professionals working in related fields. * Additional detailed footnotes and references for the academic * International contributions from the US, Europe and India * Covers the perspectives of different groups involved in the controversies: governments, environmental agencies, consumers, industrial agencies and the developing world
A Survey of Agricultural Economics Literature by
This is the second volume in the comprehensive three-volume work A Survey of Agricultural Economics Literature, published for the American Agricultural Economics Association. The general editor, Lee R. Martin, was a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Minnesota. The work will have wide use for reference, review, or study by students, agricultural economists, general economists, and other social scientists.