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Population and Productivity
The population increased a lot and also food increased. Since there were more people there were more farms. -
Boom of the 1970s
Farmers made up only 4.6 percent of the American workforce in the early 1970s, yet this tiny minority generated nineteen percent of the United States’ exports. At the same time they fed an unprecedented average of forty-eight people per farmer, many of those outside the United States. It was what American farmers had been striving for—a period of growth and prosperity. -
The Agriculture Act
An Act to establish improved programs for the benefit of producers and consumers of dairy products, wool, wheat, feed grains, cotton, and other commodities, to extend the Agricultural Trade -
The Energy Crisis
The Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exploring Countries refused to ship oil to the United States. The price of oil rose dramatically, triggering a worldwide energy crisis and economic recession. -
USDA: Agriculture Research, Extension, and teaching
Under the 1977 farm bill, the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, the USDA was established as the leading federal agency for agricultural research, extension, and teaching programs.According to the USDA website, “We provide leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on public policy, the best available science, and effective management. -
Environmental movement
The environmental movement began to struggle with the balance between the environment, jobs, and progress. -
Farm Crisis
The economic opportunities of the early Seventies pushed farmers to take advantage of growing exports. Since easy credit helped finance the expansion, many farmers took on too much debt - which left them vulnerable to changes in the economy. -
Conservation Payments
Growing concerns about the effects of agriculture on the environment brought about a merger of crop support payments and resource conservation in the 1985 Farm Bill. This farm bill was the first to contain conservation requirements. -
Farm bills
During the 1990s two farm bills were signed into law. Under President George H. W. Bush, the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 was signed into law. Under President Bill Clinton, the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 was signed into law. -
Better times
The Berlin Wall that had stood for twenty-eight years as a symbol of the Cold War came down in May 1989; and by December 1991 the Soviet Union was no more.The economy of the 1990s was one of rapid growth highlighted by a stock market boom that was fueled by emerging Internet businesses. Inflation and unemployment were at historic lows.
