Preface

Jack Hayes

Yearbook Editor

Change is the only constant in farming and rural life. There have been tremendous changes in rural life since the early days of this Nation. We have seen a great exodus from the land and now we are beginning to see a substantial return.

The new trend reverses the massive rural-to-urban migration from World War II through the 1960's. Non-metropolitan counties lost 3 million people through out-migration in the 1960's. But between 1970 and 1976, rural areas and small towns grew by 4.3 million.

Many suburbanites and city people have moved to the country. Those who haven't done so and are thinking about it should study carefully all they can about what is involved before making the move. This book, Living on a Few Acres, should help. Read it. Visit country areas. Talk to people already there. Check all the angles.

There are others who will find this book useful. Among them are those who have been full-fledged farmers in the past but are choosing to farm smaller portions of the land, and to hold jobs in town.

We wish you good reading and good farming.

Among the many persons who contributed special skills to this book were Charles McKeown and William Rawley of the Typography and Design Division, U.S. Government Printing Office; Warren Bell and Paul Wertz (ret.) of the Printing Liaison Branch, USDA; and Denver Browning of the Yearbook staff, who did the Index.

Chairman of the committee that planned this Yearbook was Ned D. Bayley, Office of the Secretary. The Deputy Chairman was Alice Skelsey, Science and Education Administration (SEA).

Members of the committee were:

Jack Armstrong, Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service (ESCS);

William A. Bailey, SEA-Agricultural Research;

Charles Beer, SEA-Extension;

Richard A. Biggs, Montgomery County (Md.) Cooperative Extension Service;

Wesley Harris, Farmers Home Administration (FmHA);

Pieter Hoekstra, Forest Service;

Evelyn Johnson, SEA-Extension;

James Lewis, ESCS;

Percy Luney, Office of Equal Opportunity;

Charles McClurg, University of Maryland;

McKinley Mayes, SEA-Cooperative Research;

David Ross, University of Maryland;

Floyd Smith, SEA-Agricultural Research (ret.);

Billy Teels, Soil Conservation Service (SCS);

Ralph Wilson, SCS;

James D. Wiseman, FmHA.