In 2025, Lancaster Farming is celebrating 70 years of being the Farmer’s Choice. Although farming remains rooted in tradition, the American agricultural industry has undergone widespread changes in the seven decades since that first November 4, 1955, issue. This article is one in a series reflecting on how many of those changes have shaped modern farming and continue to influence its future.

Mass quantities of affordable food produced cheaply and efficiently, or thriving rural populations?

70 Years of Local Food: A Response to Large-Scale Agriculture

The local food movement has grown in the U.S. over the past several decades, as consumers seek connection with their farmers and grow weary of industrial agriculture.

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