Food, Land & People in a Changing America The story of American Agriculture Debra Spielmaker

Geography, the Climate and Land Deep well drained topsoil, prime agricultural land. Temperate climate, moderate temperature, and adequate rainfall. What is agriculture?

Early America, the Food and Land Food production harvesting techniques of Native Americans Three Sisters: Corn, Squash, and Beans Pumpkins, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Peanuts, Sunflowers, Cotton, Pineapples & Blueberries Farming and Traditions, Green Corn Ceremony Crop and livestock production

America, the Food and Land Today, almost half of the world’s food crops come from the plants that were first grown in the Americas.

Early America the Fiber and Land Plant leaf and stem fibers Cotton Indians knew how to weave cotton 1600s southern colonies grew this crop on a small scale for self sufficiency 1700s Cotton is grown on a larger scale in southern colonies

America, the People the Land, and a New Economy Indians lived a sustainable life. New colonists in Jamestown were forced to work on the farms if they wanted to eat (the preferred looking for gold). Tobacco production allowed the Virginia colony to succeed and establish a stable form of government.

Hearts and Minds “There seems to be 3 ways for a nation to acquire wealth: the first is by war...this is robbery: the second by commerce, which is generally cheating: the third by agriculture, the only honest way...” Benjamin Franklin

Transformed America, the Food, Land and People Significant events creating the most progressive culture in the world! 1493 - Columbus introduces calves, goats, sheep, pigs, hens, fruit, and old world vegetable seeds. 1607 - English colonists plant grain, potatoes, pumpkins, and melons. 1609 - Indians teach Jamestown settlers how to grow corn.

Hearts and Minds “I know of no pursuit in life in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches of a husbandman’s care.” George Washington

Transformed America, the Food, Land and People - First Negroes arrive at Jamestown. 1780 - U.S. Ambassador Ben Franklin sends soybean seeds back from France. 1786 - George Washington breeds the first mules in the U.S. 1793 - Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin. Thomas Jefferson invented the moldboard plow. 1794 - Whiskey Rebellion: western farmers revolt against a grain tax. 1776 - Farmers make up 92% of the population, of 5 million.

Hearts and Minds “Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most wedded to its liberty and interests, by the most lasting bonds.” Thomas Jefferson

Transformed America, the Food, Land and People 1803 – Louisiana Purchase, a port for American farmers. 1805 - Cotton replaces tobacco as the main crop in the south. 1810 - Beginning of the “Industrial Revolution. 1819 - U.S. canning industry started. 1825 - Erie Canal finished. 1795-1815 Sheep and wool industry emphasized. 1830 – 275 labor hours to produce 100 bushels of wheat (5 acres)

History and Technology Cotton Gin

Southern Dependency A burial description… “The grave was dug through solid marble, but the marble headstone came from Vermont. It was a pine wilderness but the pine coffin came from Cincinnati. An iron mountain overshadowed it by the coffin nails and screws and the shovel came from Pittsburgh…A hickory grove grew nearby, but the pick and shovel handles came form New York…That country, so rich in underdeveloped resources, furnished nothing for the funeral except the corpse and the hole in the ground.”

History and Technology Spinning Mill

History and Technology Transportation Erie Canal 1817-1825

Hearts and Minds “Every nation should … be able to feed and clothe and defend itself. If it rely upon a foreign supply that may be cut off…it cannot be independent. “ Henry Clay

Transformed America, the Food, Land and People 1831 - Cyrus McCormick invented the grain reaper, and the concept of paying installments or buying on credit. 1836 - Grain combine patented. 1837 - John Deere manufactures steel plow. 1843 - Sir John Laws founded the commercial fertilizer industry by developing a process for making superphosphate. 1850 - Rembert & Prescott developed a mechanical cotton picking machine. 1845 – 1855 Great Potato famine in Ireland.

Transformed America, the Food, Land and People 1855 - Michigan and Pennsylvania established the first state agricultural colleges. 1858 - Mason jars, used for home canning. 1862 - President Lincoln creates the first Department of Agriculture and the Morrill Land Grant College Act. Homestead Act give 160 acres to settlers who will farm the land for five years. 1867 - Barbed wire invented. Utah State University Established 1888

Land Distribution Land Acts Sale Prices Size of Tract Ordinances of 1784-1785 $1 per acre 640 – acre tracts Act of 1796 $2 per acre Act of 1800 320 – acre tracts Act of 1820 $1.25 per acre 160 & 80 acre tracts Preemption Act of 1841 (grants to railroads &canals at $2.50 per acre) Graduation Act of 1854 From 12.5 cents per acre to $ 1 per acre, depending on value Homestead Act 1862 Free Homesteads 160 acre tracts

Transformed America, the Food, Land and People 1869 - Transcontinental railroad completed. 1865 - Pasteurization invented. 1870 - Refrigerator railroad car patented. 1875 - Milking machine invented. Automatic milker, 2000 1860 - Farmers make up 58 % of the population. 1890 - 35-40 labor hours to produce 100 bushels of wheat on 2.5 acres

Patterns of Conflict and Economic Turning-Points Fiber (wool) production and textile mills (dependence on England’s mills). Conflicts with Indians Tobacco to Cotton, late 1700s Farm profits and depression

1880’s First hybrid crop developed – corn (greatly increased yield and quality) First pesticide discovered (Bordeaux mixture increased crop yield & quality) Federal Hatch Act (established agricultural experiment stations nationwide)

1890’s First gasoline tractor built (agriculture’s greatest achievement) Boll weevil invades U.S. cotton (forced farmers to diversify & improve land management) Rural Free Delivery (mail service to farmers improved communication)

1900’s George Washington Carver found new uses for peanuts (agricultural expansion and diversification) Hog cholera serum developed (first commercial animal health product) First agricultural extension agent hired (dispersed agricultural research) 4-H Clubs established (first effort to educate rural youth in agriculture) Food & Drug Act/Meat Inspection Act (forced improved livestock production methods to insure food safety)

1910’s Disease resistant plants developed (improved crop yield and quality) Mechanical combine developed (threshed crops on the move to harvest more acres faster) American Farm Bureau organized (national farmer organization) Smith-Lever Act (formally established cooperative extension service) Smith-Hughes Act (established agricultural education in public schools)

1920’s Small tractors developed (mechanized agriculture on small acreages) Future Farmers of American founded (agricultural youth leadership organization) Agricultural research lays groundwork for second agricultural revolution

1930’s Artificial insemination of dairy cattle became commercially feasible due to development of liquid nitrogen (improved animal genetics) Rural Electrification Association founded (made electricity available to rural America and began the move to electrical equipment) Farm Credit Act passed (provided money for lending to farmers)

1940’s Agricultural pesticide use becomes commercially feasible (improves crop production and efficiency) Mechanized cotton picker developed (reduced need for manual labor) End of the “sharecropper” era – agriculture becomes a business

1950’s Anhydrous ammonia becomes available (greatly increased crop yields) Screw worm eradicated by release of sterile male flies (first application of biotechnology in agriculture)

1960’s Improved quality of life for Rural America 83% of farms have telephones 98% of farms have electricity 98% of farms have automobiles American farmers experience great prosperity

1970’s High-yielding wheat varieties developed (increased ag exports & wheat acreage expansion) Hog cholera eradicated (first successful elimination of disease in livestock)

1980’s Computer use in agriculture (decision-making, equipment control, marketing, communication) Boll weevil eradicated (first successful use of scientific research and biotechnology to eliminate a crop pest) Embryo transfer in cattle perfected (permitted rapid genetic improvement in livestock)

1990’s Genetic engineering developed (used in crops in livestock to improve production and decrease pesticide use) Precision agriculture using GPS technology (more efficient use of fertilizer and pesticides to reduce cost and pollution)

2000’s What’s Next? Almost 99 percent of all U.S. farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations. Less than 1 percent of America's farms and ranches are owned by non-family corporations. About 94 percent of U.S. ag products sold are produced on farms that are owned by individuals, family partnerships and family corporations. Non-family corporations account for only about 6 percent of U.S.ag product sales. In 1935, the number of farms in the United States peaked at 6.8 million. Today, there are 2.13 million farms dotting America’s rural landscape. Texas had the most farms (229,000) in 2003, followed by Missouri (106,000), Iowa (90,000), Tennessee (87,000), Kentucky (87,000) and Oklahoma (83,500).

2000+ More of the same (improvements in current technology) Digital animal identification Biofuel use in farming Intense water management E-Commerce Food security Organic agriculture Who knows????? In 2002, the average age of a farmer was 55. There were 236,269 farms operated by women in the United States in 2002, a 12.6 percent increase from 1997. There were 50,443 farmers of Spanish, Hispanic or Latino origin in the United States in 2002, a 51 percent increase from 1997. There were 29,145 black farmers in the United States in 2002, a 9 percent increase from 1997. In 2002, there were 7,913 multiple race farmers in the United States.

Ethanol With a record production of 2.81 billion gallons of ethanol in 2003, 1 billion bushels of corn and 12 percent of the grain sorghum crop were used to produce fuel for our vehicles. In 2003, 73, ethanol plants were in operation in the United States, with 14 new plants under construction.

Introduction of Precision Agriculture Yield Monitors Cotton Peanuts Wheat The picture is an example of what a yield map would look like after you collected data.

Variable Rate Irrigation VRI is a way to control the amount of water that is applied to a field. http://www.nespal.org/irreff/howitworks.html

Precision Agriculture Plant Breeders are working hard to create better and higher yielding crops. GPS, Global Positioning Systems have become a helpful tool in Agriculture.

Precision Agriculture Soil Electro-conductivity monitors. Disk electrodes are move through the soil and collect clay content, soil texture, and amount of salts

Food, Land and People = Agriculture Does agriculture have a different definition today than 250 years ago? What do you think Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson would say about agriculture today? How did these men shape our American culture and our future? Is agriculture as important today as in 1776? 1877?

What is Sustainable Agriculture? Marty Baker Co-State SARE Director Answer: “Sustainable” includes many types of agriculture

Sustainable Ag: The Official Definition “...All agricultural production systems and practices which are economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially acceptable ...”

Sustainable Ag: Official Definition “. . . and which contribute to a better quality of life for agricultural producers and their families and the general public.” --Texas Cooperative Extension Sustainable Agriculture Strategic Plan

Sustainable Production Farm profitability Environmental stewardship Quality of life for farm families and rural communities

Sustainable Goals Sustain economic viability Sustain environmental stewardship Sustain social responsibility and quality of life

Sustainable is Not Always Organic But it is innovative

When is Agriculture Sustainable? Maintains a diverse ecosystem Reduces environmental impacts Minimizes pest problems It has to be profitable

Sustainability is . . . A goal A direction A guiding principle

Is Sustainability a Philosophy or a Set of Practices? Sustainability has to be adaptable and supportive of community environments

Sustainability is Profitable Includes production and processing Business concepts and marketing

Sustainable is Environmental Management Soil management Crop management Livestock management Water management Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

S.A.R.E. & the Texas Program SARE = Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Mutual goal of both programs is to teach technical skills and to provide information

And Don’t Forget Marketing… Most sustainable operations fail not from poor production practices but from lack of marketing Photos by Robert Burns