Life Sciences Commons^™

New Rules, New Technologies, And The Shape Of Minnesota Farming, Steven J. Taff

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The future development of Minnesota agriculture will be strongly influenced by new technologies and government policies that will alter prices for farm inputs and outputs. While some farm operations will fail under most expected price regimes, a loss of farmers will probably not have a significant impact on overall farm production. However, the new technologies and government policies could shift Minnesota farming into either a more intensive (less land, higher yield) or more extensive (more land, lower yield) mode of operation. A shift either way will have important implications for Minnesotans. Ownership and residence patterns, ground water quality, habitat and …