1. Adjusting to Changes in Agriculture and Rural America A M E R I C A T O D A Y PROGRESSIVE FARMER Third Annual Butler/Cunningham Conference Montgomery, Alabama November 8-9, 2004

2. A RICH HISTORY WITH MANY TRANSFORMATIONS

3. 1940 1965 1970 1990 1997 Thousand Farms 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 Acres Per Farm 600 500 400 300 200 100 Number of Farms Acres per Farm The Trend SOURCE: Economic Research Service, USDA 2000 FARMS VERSUS ACREAGE

4. The Trend CATTLE FARMS Number of Cattle Farms 1,024,935 796,436

5. The Trend CORN FARMS Number of Corn Farms 883,309 348,590

6. The Trend COTTON FARMS Number of Cotton Farms 89,536 24,805

7. Commercial Farms 157,518 Intermediate Farms 192,042 SOURCE: Economic Research Service, USDA 2000 The Market Residence Farms 1.8 million

8. SYNGENT A Ciba Novartis Zeneca Ag Products Merck Crop Prot. Sandoz Crop Protection Ciba-Geigy Occidental Ciba Geigy ICI America Inc. Diamond Shamrock Zoecon Crop Prot. of Sandoz Michigan Co. Zoecon Hooker Chem. Co. Hooker Subsid. of Occidental Zoecon Velsicol Co. Velsicol (subsid. of NW Indust.) Sandoz Maag Esso Res. And Engineering ICI United States (C-P bought by Unilever, PLC) Stauffer (subsid. Of Chesbrough-Pond’s) Stauffer Chipman of Canada ICI UK Atlas Canett Corp. Ishihara (purchaser) SDS Biotech Showa Denko ISK BiosciencesFermenta ASCFermenta Pl. Prot.Fermenta AB G.B. Biosciences Ansul ag prod Shamrock Oil and Gas Diamond Alkali - Kohler Chem. - Black Leaf Internat. Minerals and Chem. (pesticides) Victor Chem. Works 1971 1967 1985 1972 1959 1971 1995 1970 1998 (except Asia/Pacific) 1993 (sold acetachlor to Dow) 198620001895 1987 1985 1967 (sold Dacthal to AMVAC, 2001) 1990

9. Rural no longer means remote. From “The Rural Rebound” by Kenneth M. Johnson and Calvin L. Beale Our research shows that between 1990 and 1996, the population of America’s rural counties grew by nearly three million, or 5.9 percent. In July 1996, about 53.8 million Americans, or just over 20 percent of the U.S. population, lived in areas officially classified as “nonmetropolitan.”

10. “The Rural Rebound” The migrants of the 1990s have settled in the Mountain West, the Upper Great Lakes, the Ozarks, parts of the South and rural areas of the Northeast. Population losses have occurred only in the Great Plains, the western Corn Belt, and the Mississippi Delta.

11. More Metropolitan People Are Moving To Small Town America looking for a simple, family-oriented lifestyle

12. 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 Thousands Tractor Sales Under 40 Horsepower SOURCE: EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS INSTITUTE Growth Market

13. FARMLIFE EDITION INTRODUCED IN JULY 2001

14. FARMLIFE SECTION

17. THE RANGE OF TOPICS SUBJECTS IN COMMON Commercial Farmers “Farms” As Lifestyle No Till Marketing Seeds/Chemicals Farm Bill Commodity NewsTractors/Equipment Business Mgmt. Crop Production Farm Shops GPS Weed/Brush Control Pasture Mgmt. Tax Planning Home Offices Mudrooms Estate PlanningTimber Mgmt. Water Quality Cooking Nature/Wildlife Pond Mgmt. Farm SafetyHealth CareDecks and Patios FencingFarm HeritageYard CareAntiques HorsesSchoolsDried Flowers Barns/Buildings Environmental IssuesChickens Cattle Animal HealthTools Flower Gardening Real EstateVegetable GardeningBed & Breakfasts Soil Conservation Land ValuesGoats and Sheep Country FestivalsLand-use regulationsLocal Gov’t Issues

18. SEPT BUSINESS COVER COMING BUSINESS SECTION

23. FOR LANDOWNERS

26. LAND & FARMSTEAD

28. LIVESTOCK & FARM ANIMALS

29. TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

30. HOME & GARDEN

33. RURAL SPORTMAN & OUTDOORS

35. IDEA HOUSE & FARMSTEAD

36. DREAM SHOP

38. SHOP MAKEOVER

40. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” -- Charles Darwin