The Condition of Farm Workers and Small Farmers. Report to the National Board of National Sharecroppers Fund and Rural Advancement Fund.

Discrepancies in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (one of America's largest industries) and its relationship to farmworkers and small farmers are discussed in this report. Statistics supporting this are: (1) although 60% of all substandard housing is in rural areas, less than 25% of all Federal housing has been allocated for these areas; (2) approximately 50% of the nation's poor live in rural areas, and 70% of these individuals survive on less than $2,000 per year; (3) almost half of America's 2.7 million farmers earned less than $2,500 in 1972; and (4) the average annual wage for 270,000 migratory laborers was $1,830, while the average farmworker earned $3,170. All these figures are well below the Federal poverty standard. The discussion focuses on achieving rural revitalization through a comprehensive Federal policy which would maintain a common direction in its programs and provide for coordination and cooperation between governmental agencies. Other topics included in this discussion on the indifference of large corporate farming are the land-grant university's concern with industry rather than farmers and racial discrimination in the Extension Service. A related document is ED 054 885. (HBC)