Primary Sources: The 1980s: Farm Crisis

"The American Agriculture Movement grew out of the populist agrarian protests of the late 1970s. Officially chartered in August of 1977, it remains active. Materials in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library reflect principally its formation, the tractorcade protests of 1977-1979, and the farm and rural suicide hotline prevention efforts of the 1980s. Materials include oral history interviews, photographs, video and film, and miscellaneous papers."

"The Minnesota Farm Economy Oral History Project documents the state's number one industry: agriculture. Although Minnesota's economy continues to rely on resource-dependent industries, agriculture has retained its importance due in part to its diversification.

While many of the interviews in the Society's oral history collections contain depictions of farm life, most of the reminiscences focus on early twentieth-century life. The Minnesota Farm Economy Project documents the changing role of farming in the late twentieth century through interviews with people from a variety of backgrounds. Through these interviews, the narrators discuss their roles and those of various agricultural organizations, and their work in banking and business development upon Minnesota's agricultural economy."