By Alfred Adask In 1999 Drs. William Heffernan, Robert Gronski, and Mary Hendrickson (professors in the Department of Rural Sociology at the University of Missouri) presented a paper entitled ““Concentration of Agricultural Markets”” to the National Farmers Union. That paper outlined fundamental changes in the social structure of rural American communities imposed by corporate agriculture. One of the report’s most astonishing assertions was: Today, most rural economic development specialists discount agriculture as a contributor to rural development because of the food system’s emerging structure. Imagine —agriculture is being “discounted” as a contributor to rural economic development. For most of rural … Continue reading When companies export profit from local economy, negative multiplier effect kicks in