This is the first of two volumes of papers examining the impact of national agricultural policy on the rural poor. The seven articles in this volume offer personal accounts of minority and low-income farmers struggling to gain a foothold in American agriculture. "'It's Too Late for Our Family,'" by Marian Lenzen, describes a family's struggle to hold onto its small Nebraska farm and the probable fate of that farm. "Death of a Farm?" by Judy Dye, describes an organic farmer's frustrations in making loan agreements with the Farmer's Home Administration. "Vanishing Act: America's Black-Owned Farmland," by Billie Jean Young, demographically describes declining land ownership by Blacks since the turn of the century. It also examines the trend's effect on Black political activism, economic power, and migration patterns. "Naheola, Alabama: A Remembrance of a Black Farming Community," also by Young, describes a young woman's upbringing in a Black farming town during the 1950s and the disappearance of that town's farming base. "A Poor Harvest: Some Thoughts on Native American Agriculture," by David A. Larsen, describes the effects of U.S. agricultural policy on American Indian land-ownership patterns. In "We Can't Buy Any Land: Farmworkers Plant Cooperative Seeds," Jessie de la Cruz describes her efforts to start a small farm in a federal irrigation district where most of the acreage is controlled by wealthy landowners. In "Last and Still Least," Alice Larsond discusses the economic and social dilemmas of U.S. migrants and seasonal farmworkers. (TES)