Agricultural economists as story tellers focus on key players, their motivations, and activities (McCloskey). Thus we try to understand current events in terms of the past and to peer into the future. The better stories provide insights by pointing out, and perhaps measuring, relationships among events and "causes." Coffey's story focuses on the impacts of industrialization on farm supply firms and particularly cooperatives. Coffey's story has the ring of authenticity-of a person who knows his industry. Barkema and O'Brien attempt larger stories about the whole system. Today's growing fragmentation of consumer demand is Barkema's driving force of change. O'Brien's driving force is the effort to minimize or transfer risk.