A Look at Major Events Impacting Productivity and Uncertainty in Southern Agriculture During the 1970's

In view of the breadth of the topic, coverage is limited to identifying the events and commenting on the types of impacts on agriculture rather than stating specific empirical estimates of impacts. Numerous researchers in agricultural economics have examined the quantitative dimensions of impact from particular scenarios of future courses of some of the events identified here. With only one or two notable exceptions, the current commodity output mix of southern agriculture is similar to that for U.S. agriculture as a whole. Ranking the top eight farm enterprises of the south in dollar value (1976) shows tobacco in the southern region replacing wheat in the national ranking; dairy, corn, and hogs are more important nationally and broilers and eggs are more important in the southern complex. Therefore, if those dimensions of agriculture associated with geographic location, such as population, climate, or transport net, are excluded, the major events affecting southern agriculture in the 1970s can be discussed in terms of U.S. agriculture.