Fitzgerald thoughtfully discusses the transformation of U.S. agriculture from family farms to its current status as an industrialized sector. She considers three factors that influenced the pattern and speed of the shift to industrialization. First, variation in soil quality, climate, and terrain created diversity in crop production across regions in the United States. Industrialization came first to California, which was initially dominated by wheat production, and last to the Atlantic Coast, which produced fruits, vegetables, dairy, and poultry. Second, although demand for U.S. products was high during World War I, at war's end foreign demand for these products declined and farm prices fell rapidly, precipitating a farm crisis. Third, bankers, the USDA, insurance agents, and newly minted agricultural engineers and agricultural economists all pointed to the efficiency of the factory system as a model for agriculture.

The second chapter describes the role economists played in agriculture's modernization. The USDA felt it was important to collect information about the agricultural sector, largely to make it possible to control farm activity and agricultural research from afar. For example, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (BAE) suggested collecting cost-of-production data for grains, which all states quickly took up, using nearly identical methods to collect cost of production information. It was at this point (1922), according to Fitzgerald, that “it became national policy to ensure that farmers operate in as standardized and routine a manner as possible” (p 36). Land grant universities, created with federal money, struggled because the faculty often had little knowledge of regional farming practices, and so began collecting information on farming practices whilst encouraging farmers to account for their revenues and expenses. A rift emerged among those promoting the quantification of agriculture: some were interested in creating economic models to influence policy while another group was more hands-on, seeking to improve farming techniques. Two professional associations emerged from these distinct groups of professionals—the American Economic Association and the American Farm Management Association.

The third chapter focuses on how agricultural engineers, through their problem-solving approach, had a large impact on farm modernization. A small group of engineers from academia, industry, and government—interested in issues such as farm implements and barn design—formed the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE). Engineers were interested in promoting on-farm efficiency through farm layout and farm standardization, and thought human labor should be replaced with machines. The early unreliability of tractors led engineers to question whether horses should be supplanted by tractors, but despite the debate, farmers began buying tractors in the early 1910s. The next major innovation, the combine, was able to cover a large amount of ground in a short time, encouraged farmers to increase farm size.

In the fourth chapter, Fitzgerald discusses the emergence of large-scale farming. According to the BAE, a large-scale farm was five to eight times as large as the average farm in the same area producing the same crops, and could be a single farm or a group of farms under the same management. By 1930 Texas, California, and Alabama had the greatest number of large-scale farms, which produced a variety of crops: cotton, beef cattle, sheep, fruit, dairy, and grain. One type of industrial farm was the chain or group farm, comprised of farms owned by banks or farm management companies, directed by farm managers, and operated by tenants. The owner dictated most farm practices, including types of seeds to sow and machines to use. Large cooperatives—such as the California Fruit Grower's Exchange—were another form of industrial farm. A large debate (one that continues today) ensued as to whether the industrial farms were “better” than family farms.

The fifth chapter and sixth chapters are case studies of the Campbell Farming Corporation and the Soviet collective farming experience. By virtue of four reasons, the Campbell Farming Corporation, in Fitzgerald's opinion, was an industrial farm. The farm depended on machinery, economic, and engineering expertise, and relied on outside capital. Wheat prices were low, necessitating that Campbell work precisely and efficiently to turn a profit. In contrast to the success of the Campbell farm, Fitzgerald's second case study details the complete failure in the Soviet Union of the techniques used by American industrial farmers.

In closing, the industrialization of agriculture has long been debated by those interested in American agriculture. In this thoughtful and well-executed book, Fitzgerald gives a large share of the credit (or blame, depending on your perspective) for the modern agricultural system to economists and engineers as well as to the financial industry. Although questions about the relative virtues or vices of industrialized agriculture are likely to linger, Fitzgerald provides much-needed insight into the factors contributing to agriculture's industrialization.