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

A RICH HISTORY WITH MANY TRANSFORMATIONS

Thousand Farms 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 Acres Per Farm Number of Farms Acres per Farm The Trend SOURCE: Economic Research Service, USDA 2000 FARMS VERSUS ACREAGE

The Trend CATTLE FARMS Number of Cattle Farms 1,024, ,436

The Trend CORN FARMS Number of Corn Farms 883, ,590

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

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

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 (except Asia/Pacific) 1993 (sold acetachlor to Dow) (sold Dacthal to AMVAC, 2001) 1990

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.”

“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.

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

Thousands Tractor Sales Under 40 Horsepower SOURCE: EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS INSTITUTE Growth Market

FARMLIFE EDITION INTRODUCED IN JULY 2001

FARMLIFE SECTION

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

SEPT BUSINESS COVER COMING BUSINESS SECTION

FOR LANDOWNERS

LAND & FARMSTEAD

LIVESTOCK & FARM ANIMALS

TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

HOME & GARDEN

RURAL SPORTMAN & OUTDOORS

IDEA HOUSE & FARMSTEAD

DREAM SHOP

SHOP MAKEOVER

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