Food, Land

1
Food, Land People in a Changing America

• The story of American Agriculture
• 1877-2009

What is agriculture?
2
Transformed America, the Food, Land and People

• 1881 - Hybridized corn produced.
• - The hatch Experiment Station Act
• was passed, providing federal
• grants to states for agricultural
• experimentation.
• 1888 - The first long haul shipment of a
• refrigerated freight car was made
• from California to New York.
• 1892 - The gasoline tractor was built by
• John Froelich.

1870- Farmers make up 53 of the
population. 1890- Farmers make up 43 of the
population.
3
Transformed America, the Food, Land and People
1900 George Washington Carver,
conducts important research on
peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans,
and cotton. 1902 - The Reclamation Act was
passed, leading to water
projects for irrigation. 1906 - The Pure food
and Drug Law was enacted. 1914 -
Establishment of the federal- state
Extension Service to direct the education
for farmers.
4
Transformed America, the Food, Land and People
1920 - Agriculture prices collapse. 1932 - Dust
Bowl conditions develop. 1933 - The Farm Credit
Administration was established,
creating specialized credit for
agriculture. 1938 - The Agricultural Adjustment
Act of 1938 was enacted, authorizing
farm price supports and
adjustment programs.
1921 1940 The Great Depression 1930- Farmers
make up 21 of the population.
5
Transformed America, the Food, Land and People

• 1945 - Frozen foods become popular.
• 1949 - Agricultural Act of 1949 passed,
• incorporating the principle of
• flexible price support and giving
• surplus food to the needy.
• 1950 - Farm Surpluses
• - More tractors than work horses on
• the farm.

1940- Farmers make up 18 of the population.
6
Transformed America, the Food, Land and People
1955 - Nine labor hours to produce 125
bushels of wheat on 5 acres (1830
275 labor hours to produce 100
bushels of wheat on 5 acres.). 1955 - Sterile
flies used for screwworm control. 1964 - Nation
Food Stamp Act passed.
(bushel 60 pounds of wheat)
7
Transformed America, the Food, Land and People
1965 Five labor hours to produce 100 bushels of
wheat on 3.3 acres.
2000
1930 - One farmer supplies 10 persons in the U.S.
and abroad. 1940 - One farmer supplies 11 persons
in the U.S. and abroad. 1950 - One farmer
supplies 16 persons in the U.S. and abroad. 1960
- One farmer supplies 26 persons in the U.S. and
abroad.
8
Transformed America, the Food, Land and People
1972 - Russian wheat sales bring
higher farm prices. 1985 - Passage of 1985 Food
Security Act shifts U.S. farm policy
toward market orientation. Anti-
smoking campaigns cut U.S. tobacco
production. 1986 - Worst drought ever to hit
Midwest farmers.
1980 - One farmer supplies 76 persons in the U.S.
and abroad.
9
Transformed America, the Food, Land and People
1989 - The number of U.S. farm acres
retired through the Conservation
Reserve Program reaches 30 million. 1992 - The
use of conservation tillage methods,
which leave crop residues in the
field to combat erosion continues to
rise. 1993 - Passage of North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Advances
in biotechnology reach the agricultural
producer and consumer level.
1990- Farmers make up 3 of the population.
10
Transformed America, the Food, Land and People
1995 - Farmers begin using satellite
technology to track and plan their
farming practices. 1995 - USDA meat inspection
modernized for safer food. 1999 - Farm
Families make up less than 10 of
rural population but rural areas
experience strong growth.
Concentric ring patterns were due to worn or
plugged nozzles. Pie-shaped purple area
indicated a pivot stall that caused
over-watering. The higher-elevated South half of
field shows crop stress due to poorly performing
pressure regulators.
2000- Farmers make up 1.5 of the population, or
5 million of 304 million. 2009- One farmer
supplies 144 persons in the U.S. and abroad.
11
Food, Land and People Agriculture

• How do you define agriculture now?
• What do you think Ben Franklin George Washington,
  and Thomas Jefferson would say about agriculture
  today?
• How has agriculture changed?
• Have the uses of agricultural goods changed?
• Does America need agriculture?