This project seeks to develop innovative responses to problems in modern food systems through cross-cultural dialogues between farmers, NGOs, and policy makers in two agricultural heartlands: The Kansas River Valley, centered in Douglas County, Kansas in the USA and Saitama Prefecture in Japan (northwest of Tokyo). It emerges from our desire to act on scholarly studies about both the USA and Japan by economists and social scientists, who have been pondering the possibility of agriculture disappearing in these industrialized nations, evidenced by the decline of rural communities, the low rate of food self sufficiency, and other dire statistics. Our goal is to shed light on common problems, but more importantly, to suggest solutions applicable not only to these areas but others in the developed world. In particular, we will explore ways to further interest in smaller-scale, organic farming and establish closer personal relationships between food producers and consumers.