ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with research on the new reality. It is concerned with changes in agriculture and food policy and with the forces responsible for these changes. The chapter deals with the need for research on who will "speak" for agriculture and the contexts within which they speak, what interests they represent, how they speak, and their likely impacts. The agricultural policy process in the United States has never been simple. It has long been characterized by competing interests, and no farm organization, protest movement, or political candidate has ever been able to speak for all farmers, let alone for all of agriculture. The initial stage of evolution was an "agricultural development" agenda; emphasis was on research and education to increase farm productivity. The government influenced commodity supplies and prices in order to achieve an acceptable balance of farm income, food costs, and government expenditures. Considerable environmental legislation has since been passed, including laws creating the Environmental Protection Agency.
