I'm in the first stages of an attempt to chronicle the history of Sharecropping in the U.S. for a school project and I've been unable to find anything definite about its presence in modern agriculture, if any.
Would definitely be curious (and appreciative!) of anything anyone has to contribute on the topic of Sharecropping, generally, as I am more or less stumped.
Thank you for the recommendation. It will be of help. @Shahin
By the early 1870s, the system known as sharecropping had come to dominate agriculture across the cotton-planting South. Under this system, black families would rent small plots of land, or shares, to work themselves; in return, they would give a portion of their crop to the landowner at the end of the year. https://www.history.com/.amp/topics/black-history/sharecropping
Sharecropping became widespread in the South as a response to economic upheaval caused by the end of slavery during and after Reconstruction. Sharecropping was a way for poor farmers, both white and black, to earn a living from land owned by someone else. The landowner provided land, housing, tools and seed, and perhaps a mule, and a local merchant provided food and supplies on credit. At harvest time, the sharecropper received a share of the crop (from one-third to one-half, with the landowner taking the rest). The cropper used his share to pay off his debt to the merchant https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharecropping
The system started with Black farmers when large plantations were subdivided. By the 1880s, white farmers also became sharecroppers. The system was distinct from that of the tenant farmer, who rented the land, provided his own tools and mule, and received half the crop. Landowners provided more supervision to sharecroppers, and less or none to tenant farmers. Sharecropping in the United States probably originated in the Natchez District, roughly centered in Adams County, Mississippi with its county seat, Natchez https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharecropping
Sharecropping became popular after the Civil War's end in 1865 when landowners no longer had slaves and there were millions of freed slaves looking for work. In many cases, former masters turned to their former slaves and offered them jobs in exchange for a portion of the crop. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharecropping
Thank you for the recommendation. It will be of help. @Shahin
Depending on the area you are looking at you may be able to reach out to local historical/agricultural societies, however the sharecropping system really fell to the wayside once industrialized agriculture took over. Now it seems that instead of sharecroppers there is a prevalence of migrant workers to keep up with the production levels needed in modern farming.
Depending on the period you want to analyze, I would recommend visiting archives of United States history or consulting professionals linked to these topics in Universities, via mail
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