At what point did this change in the various regions of the country for average people? Are there any left where this hasn't changed.
I know that homesteading back in the second half of the 19th Century was a more expensive endeavor than people imagine, with people often saving up for years in order to buy the necessary equipment and stock in order to get started, but at some point entering agriculture, for an outsider, became essentially impossible for an average person, unless they were extremely successful in business, which by definition would mean that they weren't an average person. By this, of course, I mean really entering agriculture, not owning 40 acres outside of town while you work a town job.
When did really entering agriculture become impossible for somebody just trying to enter it?
2 comments:
I would think that similar to the way most agriculture is always going through a boom and bust cycle, being able to easily enter agriculture would also follow that boom and bust cycle in a way.
It should be easier to get into agriculture on a downturn when there is less demand for equipment or land, and difficult to start during a boom.
What complicates it recently is that almost no land is only used for agricultural purposes anymore and there's always a demand for land.
"What complicates it recently is that almost no land is only used for agricultural purposes anymore and there's always a demand for land."
That complicates it very much indeed.
For ranch land in the West, in many cases, the playground price, or the trophy price, so vastly exceeds the agricultural production price that a person couldn't make it pay off in agriculture if they lived several lifetimes trying.
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