This recently published United States Department of Agriculture National Commission on Small Farms document (MP-1545) (Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] or WordPerfect format only) is the result of the work of a 30-member commission appointed by US Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman in July 1997. The commission held a series of nine public hearings and meetings all over the US. Their 146 recommendations fall into eight broad categories designed to emphasize the importance and aid in the preservation of small farms as economically viable and ecologically sustainable enterprises that support an American way of life. The report is a response to the increasing tendency toward concentration in the production sector of the American agricultural economy.