Agriculture policy and its effects continue to change at an alarming pace. When the Migrant Education Program was started in 1965 US agriculture was very different than it is today. Nearly the only thing that remains the same is there were farmers and migrant workers working then ,and they continue to work today. The way farming and food production is conducted has changed in many ways, as well as where products are shipped, and how they are packed and produced.
The SOSY consortium, during the 2012 year, will be compiling and dis- tributing a series of briefs that will be specifically focused on providing information in regards to factors that directly affect US agriculture which then in turn affect farmers and producers, migrant workers, and the MEP.
In order for the MEP program to be proactive in program planning and in finding eligible students of all ages, it is important to keep up with current trends. We have to know and understand agriculture as it af- fects those we serve and work with each day. Since the MEP program is a national program, we have to look at national trends. These in- clude how weather is affecting agriculture, keeping up with issues re- lated to workers such as state immigration laws, and also understand- ing how imports and exports of agriculture products affect the overall US agriculture economy, farmers, producers, and migrant workers. This brief will provide an overview of what has happened since the program started in relation to the globalization of agriculture