Entrepreneurial Agriculture

Patty Cantrell reports on how innovative farm families are developing new markets and earning profits by being very entrepreneurial. Ms. Cantrell finds that local and state economic development agencies can enhance the movement by changing their investment strategies and directly providing assistance to farm families, just as they do with manufacturers, small businesses, and other employers. "Guided by the invisible and powerful hand of the free market, a new crop of entrepreneurial farmers in Michigan and other states is tailoring production to meet changing consumer demands. The result not only is more profitable farm families but also safer food and farmland free of pavement and pollution."