摘要：Renewed i n t e r e s t i n a g r i c u l t u r e by s o c i o l o g i s t s has l e d t o an emphasis on s t r u c t u r a l a n a l y s e s of r u r a l America. Drawing upon t h e d u a l economy model, t h i s p a p e r p r o p o s e s an a l t e r n a t i v e concept of the changing s t r u c t u r e of a g r i c u l t u r e i n the United S t a t e s . Two i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r s - - t h e c o r e and t h e p e r i p h e r y - - a r e d e f i n e d , and t h e i r r e l e v a n c e t o a g r i c u l t u r e i s e x p l o r e d . F o l l o w i n g A v e r i t t , a g r i c u l t u r e is an i n d u s t r y which h i s t o r i c a l l y has had a p e r i p h e r y - t y p e o r i e n t a t i o n b u t is now u n d e r g o i n g encroachment from the core economy and p a r t i a l 1 y from d o m i n a t i o n by t h e f e d e r a l government. The r e s e a r c h i m p l i c a t i o n s of t h e d u a l economy model f o r r u r a l sociology are discussed.
