PREFACE


 The 1978 Annual Report of the Joint Council on Food and Agricultural

Sciences identified "small farms" as an area for special consideration

and coordination efforts by the Council in 1979. At the April 1979

meeting of the Joint Council, members voted to establish an "Ad Hoc

Committee on Small Farms" that would provide the following:

 An inventory of existing work and objectives of that work.

 -- An identification of work needed but not underway.

 A specification of coordination needs.

 On July 11, 1979 Cochairmen M. Rupert Cutler and John S. Robins

appointed the following persons to serve on the Ad Hoc Camittee:

 -- Allan S. Johnson, Assistant to the Administrator, Economics,
 Statistics, and Cooperatives Service, Chairman

 -- R. J. Hildreth, Managing Director, Farm Foundation

 C. A. Williams, Executive Vice President, Alabama A&M University

 Marvin E. Konyha and J. C. Torio of the Science and Education

Administration were assigned to provide staff assistance to the Camnittee.

 During the past few years there have been several efforts to inventory

and identify gaps in existing research and extension activities. The

Committee believed that the best approach, given time constraints, would

be to summarize the results of these efforts and develop for consideration

by the Joint Council an overall policy framework for small farm activity,

suggestions on priorities and resource levels, and nore permanent planning

and coordinating mechanisms.