Land Rich, Cash Poor

The hidden history of an economic and cultural crisis that is threatening our very food supply-the disappearance of the American farmer.
"An anthem to the family farm in America." -The Associated Press
Taking on this working-class story of heart and hardship, award-winning writerBrian Reisinger weaves forgotten eras of American history with his own family's four-generation fight for survival in Midwestern farm country. Readers learn the truth about America's most detrimental andunexplained socioeconomic crisis: How the family farms that feed us went from cutting a middle-class path through the Great Depressionto barely making ends meet in modern America. Along the way, they'll see what it truly takes to feed our country:accidents that can kill or maim;weather that blesses or threatens;resilience in the face of crushing economic crises,from depressions and recessionsto COVID-19;and the tradition that presses down on each generation when you're not just fighting for your job, you're fighting for your heritage.
With newly analyzed data, sharp historical analysis, conversations with some of modern farming's most notable champions and critics alike, honest debate, and personal storytelling, Reisinger revealshow the hollowing out of rural America is affecting every single American dinner table. Food prices soaring far beyond the rate of inflation, a vulnerable food supply chain,environmental and ecological dilemmas, the security of our farmland from foreign adversaries, a mental health crisis that includes farmersuicides and addictions, a deepening urban-rural divide, and more worries than ever about what's for dinner. These are all becoming the hallmarks of a food system that has long stood as a modern miracle.Land Rich, Cash Pooroffers the honest truth about these issues, and a candid look at what we can do about them-before it's too late.