AGRICULTURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY - SURVIVING AND THRIVING

Important concerns are being raised across Iowa and the nation over rapid and pervasive changes in the structure of the agricultural sector. Not only are farm operations growing in size and complexity, but the input supply and food production systems are undergoing dramatic changes. Control of input supply, especially genetic material, is rapidly being concentrated in the hands of a few very large producers, who control one end of the supply chain. The output end of the food supply chain is also becoming more concentrated with increased integration back to the producer.

The magnitude of pace of these changes is a matter of concern for producers, traditional agribusinesses and rural communities. What does the future hold for Iowa farmers, rural agribusinesses and communities? How can producers position themselves to take advantage of the changes that are occurring? How can they make an opportunity out of the challenges they face in production agriculture? What can individual producers do, and how can groups of producers position themselves, to exert more control over the food supply chain?

With growing public concern and such questions being posed, members of the Iowa State University Department of Economics spent the summer and fall of 1998 meeting with producers and rural agribusiness leaders. They compiled information on changes occurring in the food supply chain in Iowa, and how restructuring input and output markets would impact the food supply chain in the future.

This publication includes outcomes of the seminars that were conducted, surveys of the literature and research that should help inform the discussion of the changing structure of Iowa agriculture. These articles also should be helpful to producers, rural agribusinesses and communities as they position themselves to address future structural changes in agriculture.

We hope this effort will play a useful role in helping rural Iowans deal with the changes on the horizon, and in evaluating options for exerting more control over the food supply chain.

John Miranowski
Chair, ISU Department of Economics

Professor Phil Baumel
Department of Economics, Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011
Phone 515.294.6263
extension@econ.iastate.edu