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Agriculture is the most fundamental of all human activities. Today, those who till the soil or tend livestock feed a world population of approximately 6.5 billion. Fifty years ago, the planet could not have sustained such a large population, and according to present projections, farmers will have to feed nine billion people by 2050. A Revolution Down on the Farm charts the profound changes in farming that have occurred during Conkin's lifetime. Using economic and historical analysis, he assesses the skills, new technologies, and government policies that helped transform American farming. He clarifies the present status of a subsidized, large-scale, mechanize, and chemically supported agriculture, evaluates its environmental and human costs, and surveys alternatives to a troubled, inadequate system.