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REGIONAL CHANGES IN FARM SALES WITHIN THE SOUTH BETWEEN 1954 AND 1974 Morton D. Winsberg Since World War II agriculture in the southeastern United States has undergone profound changes. (I) Because of the effects of technological innovations in farm equipment and land management, as well as changes in both national and international demand for agricultural commodities, several products for which the South was nationally important have declined sharply in their share of the region's farm sales. Meanwhile, the share of other products sold from farms has grown dramatically. As recently as 1954 cotton continued to be "king" in the South, accounting for the greatest share; tobacco was second, and cotton and tobacco together supplied nearly half (45 percent) of all farm sales. By 1974 cotton had dropped to sixth place, and tobacco and cotton together produced only 17 percent of the region's total. Poultry (principally broiler chickens) and soybeans had replaced the two traditional leaders, together supplying one-third of the region's sales. (2) The "southern agricultural revolution" has been accompanied by much hyperbole, leading many to conclude that the South is steadily increasing its share of national farm sales. With respect to sales, however , the revolution has been mainly one of rapid changes in the relative importance of agricultural commodities sold. Between 1954 and 1974, for example, the southern share of national poultry sales rose from 20 to 48 percent and that of soybeans from 9 to 28 percent. Smaller but significant concurrent gains occurred in the region's share of dairy products, nursery plants, hogs, corn, and forest products sold from farms. The added contribution of these products, however, barely offset the decline in the region's share of national cotton sales. Furthermore, the farm product that replaced cotton as "king" in southern farm sales experienced a serious price decline. The wholesale price of a pound of broiler chicken in 1954 was 16.8 cents, but by 1974 it had fallen to 9.7 cents. These factors and others kept the Dr. Winsberg is Associate Professor of Geography at The Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fhrida 32306. Vol. XIX, No. 1 43 South's share of the nation's farm sales at approximately 19 percent in both 1954 and 1974. In addition to the relative stability of the South's share of national farm sales, the relative contribution of each state to the regional total has fluctuated but little. Florida, with the greatest change, increased its share of the region's farm sales from 10 to 13 percent between 1954 and 1974. Two other states, Georgia and Arkansas, grew by two percentage points, while the share for North Carolina and Virginia declined by two percentage points. The rest of the states changed their relative importance by one percentage point or less. At the county level, on the other hand, farm sales have changed remarkably throughout the South since World War II, and it is at this scale that the study focuses. (3) First, it seeks to identify those counties where growth in the sale of farm products was either particularly rapid or notably slow between 1954 and 1974. Second, it attempts to define regions where growth has been especially rapid or slow. Third, it analyzes these regions to ascertain the leading farm products sold at the start of the period and at its conclusion. Finally, because between 1954 and 1974 the cities of the South grew rapidly, it attempts to ascertain whether farm sales have been affected by urbanization. DATA AND METHODS. Data used in the study are total market values of farm products sold by southern counties in 1954 and 1974 and the market values of 11 types of farm products sold. (4) The year 1954 was chosen because it was the first year in which the Census of Agriculture reported soybean sales by county for all southern states where they were important, and 1974 is the date of the most recent agriculture census. Of the 971 counties in the 11 southern states, 963 reported farm sales in both censuses. The changes in values of farm sales in these 963 counties between 1954 and 1974 were analyzed by computing their "deviational change." (5) This...

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