Regional Patterns of Farm Magazine Publication

Abstract

Information conveyed in farm magazines represents a vital ingredient in agricultural decision making. Having access to and using information on capital, marketing, and mechanization is becoming more important than the more traditional agricultural knowledge of crop and animal husbandly in determining farming success. Agricultural magazines are the most important source of information for farmers and the growth and specialization of farm magazines over the past century parallel developments in American agriculture. The dominance of magazines published in the Midwest in the last century continues today. General magazines tend to be published in the largest cities; specialized ones near their readers. Two recent trends in farm publishing are the increase in the number of specialized magazines and those oriented to changing modes of agriculture in the South and far West.