JJ Haapala

The choices made one hundred years ago determined the agricultural developments of the last century. That century was marked by dramatic changes in the quality of our food, how our food is produced, and the nature of our communities:

-- In the last century, we in the US have gone from half of our population involved in agriculture in 1900, to just over two percent of the population involved in agriculture as of 1990. The average farmer is 55 years old.

-- The farmer's share of the food dollar has dropped from 60% of each dollar spent in 1950, to just over two percent by 1998. (For every dollar spent on food, the farmer receives about two cents.)