POTENTIAL FARM-SIZE IMPACTS OF GOVERNMENT PRICE AND INCOME SUPPORT POLICIES

Declines in the price of grains during the spring and summer of 1977 have rekindled congressional debate over the need for government price and income policies for agriculture (Woods, Penn, and Henderson). One concern relative to these types of programs is that such programs tend to materially alter the farm-size distribution in the nation's agriculture. Indeed, Quance and Tweeted indicate that the support policies in effect from the 1930's through the 1960's had more of an impact on farm size than did policies directly aimed at altering the farm-size distribution (such as the Resettlement Act or the Farmers Home Administration)