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We already have a Soviet Agriculture thread; why not an American? Now, this might seem like a stupid copycat thread, but I actually do have some genuine questions:

WI farm consolidation hadn't happened? Or rather, why did farm consolidation happen, and was there any way to counterbalance it?

Somewhat related, here is a set of posters and such from the USDA in the 1914-1945 era (along with some other school-lunch related stuff from the 1950s and '60s, but I'm not worried about those). What I find particularly interesting there is the promotion of small-scale gardening. What would it take to have the USDA or some other government branch (eg., HEW/HHS) to promote such behavior in more recent times, like the 1960s-1980s?

WI certain Nixon-era policies hadn't been adopted wrt food production? From what I recall reading Micheal Pollan, around 1970 or so, Nixon's Secretary of Agriculture changed the policy of the USDA about food production. Previously (IIRC) the policy had been to try to maintain a reasonable price for the farmer while producing enough food to feed the country (and a lot of the world, too!). Afterwards, it was to maximize production. How could that have been avoided?

What about "sustainability"? Especially in the earlier part of the century, there seemed to be a focus on producing lots and lots of food without closely analyzing how that food was being produced--eg., draining fossil groundwater (I'm looking at you, Ogalla). WI some event--say, the Dust Bowl, or preferably something earlier--had led to a shift in thinking towards a more balanced take on food production? How would something like that get done?

WI US agriculture was less advanced? It seems that a lot of important technological advancements in agriculture were developed or at least popularized here. Things like combines, tractors, reaper machines, hybrid seeds, and so on. What would it take to significantly retard the development and use of such techs in the US?

Anyone else have anything they want to know?
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