Understanding Farm Structure and Demographic Change

During this century, rapid changes in the structure of agriculture have had a profound effect on agricultural production and rural areas dependent on agriculture. Unfortunately, however, holistic theoretical models to explain and understand the causes and consequences of these changes have yet to be adequately developed. In this article, a model derived from sociological human ecology is used to longitudinally examine the consequences of environmental and technological changes on farm structure and rural demographic trends in agriculturally dependent areas. This is done by exploring the consequences of irrigation development in the Great Plains. Human ecology theory maintains that environmental and/or technological change will result in changes in the organizational structure of agriculture and subsequently in population trends in affected areas. An analysis of data for a 40-year period (1940–1980) found support for these contentions.