A Condensed History of American Agriculture 1776 ... - …

1 1 Dtdmcdp1 TisNA Condensed History of American Agriculture 1776 19991776 991785 The Philadelphia Societyfor the Promotion ofAgriculture and otheragricultural groups organized1793 Invention of cotton gin18001802 George WashingtonParke Custis institutedagricultural fair inArlington, VA18101810 First American agricul-tural periodical, theAgricultural Museum,began publication 1820 Agriculture Committee, House ofRepresentatives,established18201825 Agriculture Senate,establishede,18301834 McCormick reaperpatented18401840 sThe growing use of fac-tory-made agriculturalmachinery increasedfarmer s need for cashand encouraged com-mercial farming1850 sCommercial corn andwheat belts began Department ofAgriculture established1862 The drive for agricultur-al education culminatedin the passage of theMorrill Land GrantCollege Act 1862 Homestead Act gavefree public land to per-sons willing to farm it1865-70 The sharecropping sys-tem in the Southreplaced the old slaveplantation system1850186018701874 Availability of barbedwire allowed fencing ofrangeland, ending eraof unrestricted.

2 Open-range grazing1887 Hatch ExperimentStation Act set upFederal-State coopera-tion in agriculturalresearch1890 Second Morrill Act broad-ened land -grant programand set up funding forblack land-grant schools 1890 Census showed that thefrontier settlement erawas over1890 First Federal MeatInspection Act1896 TEDR ural Free Delivery(RFD) started18801890 USDAINSPEC19001900-1910 George WashingtonCarver, director of agri-cultural research atTuskegee Institute, pioneered in finding newuses for peanuts, sweetpotatoes, and soybeans,thus helping to diversifysouthern Actfacilitated irrigation1906 Food and Drug Act, alandmark in food safety1908 President Roosevelt sCountry LifeCommission was estab-lished and focusedattention on ruralproblems19101914 Smith-Lever ExtensionAct passed setting up anational extensionservice1922 Capper-Volstead Actgave cooperatives legalstanding1932-36 Drought and dust-bowlconditions developed1933 Agricultural AdjustmentAct (AAA) initiated cropand marketing controls 1936 Soil Conservation andDomestic Allotment Actlinked farm programswith conservation1936 Rural Electrification Act(REA)

3 Greatly improvedquality of rural life1945-70 Revolution in agricultur-al technology broughtgreatly increased yieldsand more specialized,capital-intensive farms1946 National School LunchAct1947 General Agreement onTariffs and Trade(GATT) establishedworking proceduresthat substantiallyreduced tariffs betweenmember nations1954 Agricultural TradeDevelopment andAssistance Act ( ) facilitated agricul-tural exports andforeign aid1954-55 Rural developmentprogram begins1956 Soil Bank Programauthorized19201930194019501960196 4 Food Stamp Act andWar on Poverty1970 Environmental QualityImprovement Act1980 sBiotechnology becamea viable technique forimproving crop andlivestock products 1985 Food Security Act low-ered government farmsupports, promotedexports, and set up the Conservation ReserveProgram1990 Food, Agriculture ,Conservation, andTrade Act and OmnibusBudget ReconciliationAct increased farmers flexibility in plantingunder governmentprograms1993 Revised GeneralAgreement on Tariffsand Trade (GATT) andnew North AmericanFree Trade Agreement(NAFTA)

4 Lowered tradebarriers1996 Federal AgricultureImprovement andReform Act revisedfarm programs toincrease reliance onmarket signals997 SDA issues Civil Rightsction Team report, offer-ng 92 recommendationsor overcoming pastnjustices998 ACCP is implementedo target and reduce theresence of pathogensn meat and poultry999rop in many commodi-ies prices, combined withisastrous weather inany parts of the country,aused increasedemand for USDA farmrograms999 he "Roadless Initiative"s implemented to pre-erve roadless tracts inational Forests, secur-ng fish and wildlife habi-at and protecting naturalesources197019801990 991 UAifi1 Htpiitr