All comments good grist for the mill of the mind: thanks! My own comment is to wonder if the "hands of the federal government" per FDR was not LESS controlling than the present system of crop / dairy subsidies and other price supports by the government on the one hand, and the inordinate influence of corporate lobbyists, e.g. Big Sugar or ADM or Monsanto or ethanol producers on the other. The "old principle" to which FDR refers certainly does NOT exist in any farming reality, nor to any significant extent does the "family farm," except in popular ill-informed romanticized mythology in the USA today. Even the Amish farmer submits to communal regulation / cooperation. I look forward to reading respectfully any respectful replies comments to mine!