“Deeply Rooted: Unconventional
Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness,”
By Lisa M. Hamilton; Counterpoint,
Berkeley, California; 2009; 312 pages; $25.00.

More than 35 years ago I sat in an introductory economics class in the northeastern United States, listening to a man who was to become one of the foremost economists in the world. His subject was the economic strengths of America. It took him no more than 30 seconds to get to the heart of his topic for the day. It took me 15 seconds to mentally reject what he was saying, but…it always stayed with me.
As the years passed, I came to the conclusion that he was probably right, and, in my literally sophomoric way, I was very wrong. He quoted Nebraska Congressman William Jennings Bryan, who was better known for his “Cross of Gold” speech and his prosecutorial work at the so-called “Scopes Monkey Trial.” Although Bryan was a brilliant orator and Democrat politician from the heart of Midwestern farm country during the early 20th Century, I’d nearly forgotten him. Strangely enough, Lisa Hamilton cited the same quote, and in the same context, as my college economics professor did more than three decades ago. This time it has become a lot easier to accept. Here’s what he said:
“The great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities, and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms, and grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.”
The point of the quote, the professor’s lecture, and the book, are all pretty much the same. The heart of what America has to offer both the world and ourselves isn’t based on manufacturing, drilling, digging, transmission lines, computer chips, or software. What makes our mega-cities possible is food from throughout the United States and elsewhere in the western hemisphere. And, when famine stalks the planet, all eyes turn to America. What they are increasingly seeing is a possible global disaster.
Author Hamilton cites a 70-year-old quote by Milo Reno, who was at the time the president of the National Farmers’ Holiday Association. Reno stated, “We are simply demanding the same consideration for our industry that is cheerfully conceded to every other industry. We assume for ourselves the right to obtain this consideration in the same way other institutions obtain theirs; that is, to refuse to deliver the products of our farms for less than production costs.” Hamilton points out that the farmers have failed every time they have tried to achieve this goal. She goes on to note that small farmers have failed for several reasons, including the fact that they are steadfastly independent operators.
By the 1960s, not even farm co-ops could make much of a dent in the problem because the agribusiness giants were able to take over huge market shares. Hamilton relates that, “even if ten thousand [farmers] refuse to sell their grain or livestock, there will be another hundred thousand that will sell theirs.” In 1961, when asked if he feared the impact of an impending strike by the National Farmers Organization, an executive from the meatpacker Swift & Co. replied, “It wouldn't be a drop in the bucket.”
The book’s strong suit isn’t in facts and figures and the author’s advice. It rests on her interviews with individual small farmers who have discovered niche markets in which they can compete against the giant agribusiness corporations.
It offers stories of how small farmers can lobby Congress and state legislatures, especially when their interests and the interests of agribusiness giants conflict. Most readers don’t realize that large dairy farms, for example, aren’t simply 500 milk cows with easy access to pasture and barns the size of football fields. They are 2,000 - 5,000 cows living in several football field sized barns that one of the small farmers (46 cows) calls “penitentiaries” where they are locked up all day and all night.
“Deeply Rooted” holds up a mirror to the new faces of agribusiness. Some are weathered and reflect the determination to retain whatever independence they still have. Others present a false front of a farmer who “just grow through good management.” We should study both faces carefully. This book will help.
-- Henry Holtzman

Here are the current top 10 bestselling books for business. The list is compiled based on information received from retail bookstores throughout the U.S.A.

1. “Outliers: The Story of Success,” by Malcolm Gladwell (Little,Brown & Co…$27.99) (1)*
Why the cause of success can be linked to where you were born.
2. “Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan,” by Suze Orman (Spiegel & Grau…$9.99) (2)
Suze offers her classic advice for survival in tough times.
3. “Street Fighters: The Last 72 Hours of Bear Stearns, the Toughest Firm on Wall Street,” by Kate Kelly (Penguin Group. $25.95)**
Why the toughest kid on the block couldn’t assure survival.
4. “The Great Depression Ahead: How to Prosper in the Crash Following the Greatest Boom in History,” by Harry Dent (Simon & Schuster) (3)
How to survive the real economic land mines of mid-2009.
5. “Bad Money, Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global
Crisis of American Capitalism,” by Kevin Phillips (Penguin Group…$25.95) (5)
How the global economy dropped into an intensive care situation.
6. “Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - and How It Can Renew America,” by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux…$27.95) (4)
Why and how “green alternatives” can save the planet and the USA.
7. “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity,” by David Allen (Viking Penguin…$15.00) (9)
Relaxation is the author’s secret to increased productivity.
8. “Strengths-Based Leadership,” by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie (Gallup Press…$24.95) (7)
Strengths that build better leaders and more committed followers.
9. “Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World,” by Liaquat Ahamed (Penguin Group…$32.95) (5)
How four bankers after World War I set the stage for disaster.
10. “House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street,” by William D. Cohan (Knopf Doubleday…$27.95) (8)
How Bear Stearns couldn’t fail to make money until it did.

____________________
*(1) -- Indicates a book's previous position on the list.
** -- Indicates a book's first appearance on the list.