I'm looking for a specific year or event to use to frame my research for a project.
I'm just starting a personal research project into the differences between modern small-scale farmers, and how it was done in the past. I am thinking pre-WWII is the time frame I want to compare, but I'm not a history expert, and want to know if a different timeline would give a more meaningful result? I cannot go back too far, as I intend to conduct personal interviews with people, so age is a limiting factor.
Is WWII a good line to draw in the sand? Or were the changes more significant either earlier or later than that time?
That depends on the country. Here in Norway that process is in a very early phase and only started in the nineties.
I think you have to clarify a bit: Do you want a date concerning the transformation from largely subsistence farming to largely commercial farming? Then you have to go back to at least the late 19th century, assuming you're talking about the US, maybe even further.