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In 1900, most Americans lived on a farm or near farms in rural communities. Their livelihood was based on the production of farm crops, like wheat, soybeans, and corn; and farm animals which provide milk, beef, eggs, chicken, and ham. In 2001, between 5 and 10 percent of the population was involved in agriculture. Yet, this small cadre of Americans provides the vast quantities of food required to sustain the other 90 percent of the population. Federal and state farm programs are designed to steady commodity prices and farm income. But, as we have seen in recent years, food production, and therefore the cost of food, can be influenced by conditions outside the control of government or those in the farm community. The 2012 drought had a startling effect of the cost of beef. Bird flu has caused an enormous increase in the cost of eggs. Our guest today, Darren Bailey, is a farmer. He and his family have been farming in Southern Illinois for decades. He is here to tell us what it takes to create American food and what is being done to ensure farmers continue that process. Conversation with Lee Presser is a weekly half hour television program seen for more than fifteen years in the St. Louis market on Charter Cable TV.