USA Farm Heritage
Possible Exhibit Subjects

Native American Farming & Foods Domesticated in the Americas

The Indians had three sources of food: wild crops, meat and fish, and cultivated crops. Their culture
developed specific social/spiritual traditions for providing the food for the tribe.

Wild crops were available everywhere. There were chestnuts, acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts; many edible wild berries such as blue berries, gooseberries, elderberries, strawberries, fruit trees such as plum, paw paw; root vegetables, wild rice, sunflowers and tobacco. Under the leadership of the women, the entire native community was often involved in managing and gathering wild crops. Hand pollinationwas practiced to increase the yield of paw paws and other crops. Native healers collected the manyvarieties of medicinal plants.

Meat and Fish were obtained by the men for the tribal community. As traders and foresters, hunters and fishermen, they managed the woodlands. As traders the men traveled by foot or in canoe. Water was the most efficient means of travel, as the only animals available for domestication were the turkey, duck and dog. As foresters, the native men burnt the underbrush in the woodlands to make travel and hunting easier and defense more secure. The fires reduced bugs, fleas rodents, etc., and promoted the
growth of various wild crops. This modified new growth in the woodland creating extensive parks that
attracted buffalo and deer. The clear streams and lakes promoted an abundance of fish.

Cultivated Crops were grown by expanding the natural clearings in the woodlands. The men removed a circular strip of bark of some trees at the edges of the clearing a process called girdling. Now denuded of foliage, the sun was able to penetrate into an expanded area. The following spring the
underbrush in the clearing was burnt, and the ashes worked into the soil as fertilizer for the cultivated
crops. Wood ash adds potassium to the soil and reducing its acidity. Frequently after a period of between ten to twenty years, the land was returned to woodlands. While customs varied from tribe to tribe, the gardens, the cultivated crops and the villages were part of the women’s domain.

Women were the principal farmers in Native American agriculture once the woodland area was
cleared. Algonquin societies were matrilineal. There was little differentiation of wealth and everyone
contributed to the survival of the community. Children helped in the course of their training for adult
responsibilities. Ecologically sound farming practices were developed with primitive tools. Companion
planting methods increased yields by as much as 50 percent over crops grown separately. Raised hills
were planted with corn, beans and squash together. The beans fixed nitrogen in the soil, which helped the corn, and the corn stalks served as poles on which the beans can climb. Squash leaves, in turn, provide shade and reduced the growth of weeds. Companion planting also helped control insects and other pests. Sometimes fish were used as fertilizer. Sometimes fish were used as fertilizer.

Crop modifications occurred locally and over a long period of time. New seeds were traded extensively between tribes. Eastern tribes had sophisticated preserving and storage techniques. They often had several years of dried food available to them in storage. “ Indian agriculture was uniquely adapted to the eastern North American environment. Its productivity put its European counterpart to shame,” writes Daniel Richter in Facing East from Indian Country. Evan Pritchard in Native New Yorkers cites estimates of the Munsee population as between 24,500 to 51,300 in the lower Hudson and Upper Delaware valleys combined. He writes, “As some believe, the Lenape population in the New York area was 65,000 at its height in 1524, the date of Verrazzano’s arrival, ranking it with the top cities of Europe.”

In Indian Givers, Jack Weatherford describes how the native people of North and South America cultivated, developed and modified over 300 food crops. Many of them occur in dozens of varieties. Some three-fifths, 60%, of the daily diet eaten in the world today originated on this continent and traveled to the rest of the world through European trade starting in the 15th Century. This includes the white potato, sweet potato, tomato, corn, beans, squash, peanuts, and cassava. Many varieties of peppers, nuts and berries have also entered the mainstream of world diet, nutrition and cuisine.
Read the full article here.

Colonial America

Small land grants commonly made to individual settlers; large tracts often granted to well-connected colonists

1619 -First African slaves brought to Virginia; by 1700, slaves were displacing southern indentured servants

16th century Spanish cattle introduced into the Southwest

All forms of domestic livestock, except turkeys, were imported at some time

Crops borrowed from Indians included maize, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, gourds, squashes, watermelons, beans, grapes, berries, pecans, black walnuts, peanuts, maple sugar, tobacco, and cotton; white potatoes indigenous to South America

New U.S. crops from Europe included clover, alfalfa, timothy, small grains, and fruits and vegetables

African slaves introduced grain and sweet sorghum, melons, okra, and peanuts

Oxen and horses for power, crude wooden plows, all sowing by hand, cultivating by hoe, hay and grain cutting with sickle, and threshing with flail. Farmers endured rough pioneer life while adapting to new environment.

18th century

English farmers settled in New England villages; Dutch, German, Swedish, Scotch-Irish, and English farmers settled on isolated Middle Colony farmsteads; English and some French farmers settled on plantations in tidewater and on isolated Southern Colony farmsteads in Piedmont; Spanish immigrants, mostly lower middle-class and indentured servants, settled the Southwest and California.

Ideas of progress, human perfectibility , rationality, and scientific improvement flourished in the New World. Small family farms predominated, except for plantations in southern coastal areas; housing ranged from crude log cabins to substantial frame, brick, or stone houses; farm families manufactured many necessities.

1701-Jethro Tull invented seed drill

1790 -Total population: 3,929,214 ;
Farmers made up about 90% of labor force

1790's - Cradle and scythe introduced
1793 - Invention of cotton gin
1793 -First Merino sheep imported

1794 - Thomas Jefferson's moldboard of least resistance tested
1797 - Charles Newbold patented first cast-iron plow

19th century

1795-1815 The sheep industry in New England was greatly emphasized
1805-15 Cotton began to replace tobacco as the chief southern cash crop
1810-15 Demand for Merino sheep sweeps the country
1819 - Jethro Wood patented iron plow with interchangeable parts
1819 -Secretary of Treasury instructed consuls to collect seeds, plants, and agricultural inventions
1819-25 - U.S. food canning industry established
1820's -Poland-China and Duroc-Jersey swine were being developed, and Berkshire swine were imported
1830 - About 250-300 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat with walking plow, brush harrow, hand broadcast of seed, sickle, and flail
1834 - McCormick reaper patented
1834 - John Lane began to manufacture plows faced with steel saw blades
1837 - John Deere and Leonard Andrus began manufacturing steel plows
1837 - Practical threshing machine patented

1840 Total population: 17,069,453 ;
Farm population: 9,012,000 (estimated) ;
Farmers made up 69% of labor force

1840's - The growing use of factory-made agricultural machinery increased farmers' need for cash and encouraged commercial farming
1840 -Justos Liebig's Organic Chemistry appeared
1840-1850-New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio were the chief wheat States
1840-60-Hereford, Ayrshire, Galloway, Jersey, and Holstein cattle were imported and bred
1841 - Practical grain drill patented
1842 - First grain elevator, Buffalo, NY
1844 - Practical mowing machine patented
1845-55 -The potato famine in Ireland and the German Revolution of 1848 greatly increased immigration
1846 -First herdbook for Shorthorn cattle
1847 - Irrigation begun in Utah
1849 - Mixed chemical fertilizers sold commercially
1849 - First poultry exhibition in the United States
1849 - Luther Burbank born, plant breeder including Russet-Burbank potato

1850- Total population: 23,191,786 ;
Farm population: 11,680,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up; 64% of labor force ;
Number of farms: 1,449,000 ;
Average acres: 203

1850 - About 75-90 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels of corn (2-1/2 acres) with walking plow, harrow, and hand planting
1850's- Commercial corn and wheat belts began to develop; wheat occupied the newer and cheaper land west of the corn areas, and was constantly being forced westward by rising land values and the encroachment of the corn areas
1850-70 - Expanded market demand for agricultural products brought adoption of improved technology and resulting increases in farm production
1854 - Self-governing windmill perfected
1856 - 2-horse straddle-row cultivator patented
1860's -Kerosene lamps became popular

1860-Total population: 31,443,321
Farm population: 15,141,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up;58% of labor force ;
Number of farms: 2,044,000 ;
Average acres: 199

1862 -Homestead Act granted 160 acres to settlers who had worked the land 5 years
1862-75 - Change from hand power to horses characterized the first American agricultural revolution
1865-70 -The sharecropping system in the South replaced the old slave plantation system
1865-75 - Gang plows and sulky plows came into use
1865-90 -Sod houses common on the prairies
1866-86 -"Cowboy era" great cattle drives on the Great Plains;cattle boom accelerated settlement of Great Plains; range wars developed between farmers and ranchers
1868 - Steam tractors were tried out
1869 - Spring-tooth harrow or seedbed preparation appeared
1870 1870's - Silos came into use

1870 -Total population: 38,558,371
Farm population: 18,373,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up 53% of labor force
Number of farms: 2,660,000
Average acres: 153

1870's - Deep-well drilling first widely used
1874 - Glidden barbed wire patented
1874 - Availability of barbed wire allowed fencing of rangeland, ending era of unrestricted, open-range grazing
1874-76 -Grasshopper plagues serious in the West
1877 -U.S. Entomological Commission established for work on grasshopper control

1880 Total population: 50,155,783
Farm population: 22,981,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up 49% of labor force
Number of farms: 4,009,000
Average acres: 134

1880 - William Deering put 3,000 twine binders on the market
1882 -Bordeau mixture (fungicide) discovered in France and soon used in the United States
1884-90 - Horse-drawn combine used in Pacific coast wheat areas

1890 -Total population: 62,941,714
Farm population: 29,414,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up 43% of labor force
Number of farms: 4,565,000
Average acres: 136


1890 -Minnesota, California, and Illinois were the chief wheat States
1890-95 - Cream separators came into wide use
1890-99 - Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer: 1,845,900 tons
1890's - Agriculture became increasingly mechanized and commercialized
1890 - 35-40 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (2-1/2 acres) of corn with 2-bottom gang plow, disk and peg-tooth harrow, and 2-row planter
1890 - 40-50 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat with gang plow, seeder, harrow, binder, thresher, wagons, and horses
1890 - Most basic potentialities of agricultural machinery that was dependent on horsepower had been discovered
1896 -Rural Free Delivery (RFD) started

20th century

1900 -Total population: 75,994,266
Farm population: 29,414,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up 38% of labor force
Number of farms: 5,740,000
Average acres: 147

1908 -President Roosevelt's Country Life Commission was established and focused attention on the problems of farm wives and the difficulty of keeping children on the farm
1900-1909 - Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer: 3,738,300
1900-1910 - George Washington Carver, director of agricultural research at Tuskegee Institute, pioneered in finding new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, thus helping to diversify southern agriculture.

1910 -Total population: 91,972,266
Farm population: 32,077,00 (estimated)
Farmers made up 31% of labor force
Number of farms: 6,366,000
Average acres: 138

1910 1910-15 - Big open-geared gas tractors came into use in areas of extensive farming
1910-19 - Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer: 6,116,700 tons
1910 -North Dakota, Kansas, and Minnesota were the chief wheat States
1910 -Durum wheats were becoming important commercial crops
1910 -35 States and territories required tuberculin testing of all entering cattle
1910-20 -Grain production reached into the most arid sections of the Great Plains
1915-20 - Enclosed gears developed for tractor
1918 - Small prairie-type combine with auxiliary engine introduced

1920 -Total population: 105,710,620
Farm population: 31,614,269 (estimated)
Farmers made up 27% of labor force
Number of farms: 6,454,000
Average acres: 148

1920 1920-29 - Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer: 6,845,800 tons
1920-40 - Gradual increase in farm production resulted from expanded use of mechanized power
1926 - Cotton-stripper developed for High Plains
1926 -First hybrid-seed corn company organized
1926 - Successful light tractor developed

1930 -Total population: 122,775,046
Farm population: 30,455,350 (estimated)
Farmers made up 21% of labor force
Number of farms: 6,295,000
Average acres: 157
Irrigated acres: 14,633,252


1930 58% of all farms had cars;34% had telephones; 13% had electricity
1930 1930-39 - Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer: 6,599,913 tons
1930's - All-purpose, rubber-tired tractor with complementary machinery came into wide use
1930 - One farmer supplied 9.8 persons in the United States and abroad
1930 - 15-20 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (2-1/2 acres) of corn with 2-bottom gang plow, 7-foot tandem disk, 4-section harrow, and 2-row planters, cultivators, and pickers
1930 - 15-20 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat with 3-bottom gang plow, tractor, 10-foot tandem disk, harrow, 12-foot combine, and trucks
1936 -Rural Electrification Act (REA) greatly improved quality of rural life
1938 -Cooperative organized for artificial insemination of dairy cattle

1940 -Total population: 131,820.000
Farm population: 30,840,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up 18% of labor force
Number of farms: 6,102,000
Average acres: 175
Irrigated acres: 17,942,968


1940 -58% of all farms had cars ;25% had telephones ;33% had electricity
1940-49 - Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer: 13,590,466 tons
1940 - One farmer supplied 10.7 persons in the United States and abroad
1940's and 1950's-Acreages of crops, such as oats, required for horse and mule feed dropped sharply as farms used more tractors
1941-45 - Frozen foods popularized
1942 - Spindle cottonpicker produced commercially
1945-55 -Increased use of herbicides and pesticides
1945-70 - Change from horses to tractors and the adoption of a group of technological practices characterized the second American agriculture agricultural revolution
1945 - 10-14 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (2 acres) of corn with tractor, 3-bottom plow, 10-foot tandem disk, 4-section harrow, 4-row planters and cultivators, and 2-row picker
1945 - 42 labor-hours required to produce 100 pounds (2/5 acre) of lint cotton with 2 mules, 1-row plow, 1-row cultivator, hand how, and hand pick

1950 --Total population: 151,132,000
Farm population: 25,058,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up 12.2% of labor force
Number of farms: 5,388,000
Average acres: 216
Irrigated acres: 25,634,869

1950-59 - Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer: 22,340,666 tons
1950 - One farmer supplied 15.5 persons in the United States and abroad
1954 -70.9% of all farms had cars ;49% had telephones ;93% had electricity
1954 - Number of tractors on farms exceeded the number of horses and mules for first times
1955 - 6-12 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (4 acres) of wheat with tractor, 10-foot plow, 12-foot role weeder, harrow, 14-foot drill and self-propelled combine, and trucks
Late 1950's - 1960's - Anhydrous ammonia increasingly used as cheap source of nitrogen, spurring higher yields

1960 --Total population: 180,007,000
Farm population: 15,635,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up 8.3% of labor force
Number of farms: 3,711,000
Average acres: 303
Irrigated acres: 33,829,000


1960's -Soybean acreage expanded as farmers used soybeans as an alternative to other crops
1960-69 - Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer: 32,373,713 tons
1960 - One farmer supplied 25.8 persons in the United States and abroad
1960 -96% of corn acreage planted with hybrid seed
1965 - 5 labor-hours required to produce 100 pounds (1/5 acre) of lint cotton with tractor, 2-row stalk cutter, 14-foot disk, 4-row bedder, planter, and cultivator, and 2-row harvester
1965 - 5 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 1/3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 12-foot plow, 14-foot drill, 14-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks
1965 - 99% of sugar beets harvested mechanically
1965 - Federal loans and grants for water/sewer systems began
1968 - 96% of cotton harvested mechanically
1968 -83% of all farms had phones ;98.4% had electricity

1970 -Total population: 204,335,000
Farm population: 9,712,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up 4.6% of labor force
Number of farms: 2,780,000
Average acres: 390

1970 -Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Norman Borlaug for developing high-yielding wheat varieties
1970 1970's - No-tillage agriculture popularized
1970 - One farmer supplied 75.8 persons in the United States and abroad
1975 - 2-3 labor-hours required to produce 100 pounds (1/5 acre) of lint cotton with tractor, 2-row stalk cutter, 20-foot disk, 4 -row bedder and planter, 4-row cultivator with herbicide applicator, and 2-row harvester
1975 - 3-3/4 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 30-foot sweep disk, 27-foot drill, 22-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks
1975 - 3-1/3 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (1-1/8 acres) of corn with tractor, 5-bottom plow, 20-foot tandem disk, planter, 20-foot herbicide applicator, 12-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks
1975 -90% of all farms had phones ;98.6% had electricity

1980--Total population: 227,020,000 and 246,081,000
Farm population: 6,051,00 and 4,591,000
Farmers made up 3.4% and 2.6% of labor force
Number of farms: 2,439,510 and 2,143,150
Average acres: 426 and 461
Irrigated acres: 50,350,000 (1978) and 46,386,000 (1987)

1980's - More farmers used no-till or low-till methods to curb erosion
1980's -Biotechnology became a viable technique for improving crop and livestock products
1883-84 -Avian influenza of poultry eradicated before it spread beyond a few Pennsylvania counties
1986 -Antismoking campaigns and legislation began to affect the tobacco industry
1987 - 1-1/2 to 2 labor-hours required to produce 100 pounds (1/5 acre) of lint cotton with tractor, 4-row stalk cutter, 20-foot disk, 6-row bedder and planter, 6-row cultivator with herbicide applicator, and 4-row harvester
1987 - 3 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 35-foot sweep disk, 30-foot drill, 25-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks
1987 - 2-3/4 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (1-1/8 acres) of corn with tractor, 5-bottom plow, 25-foot tandem disk, planter, 25-foot herbicide applicator, 15-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks
1988 -Scientists warned that the possibility of global warming may affect the future viability of American farming
1988 -One of the worst droughts in the Nation's history hit midwestern farmers
1989 - After several slow years, the sale of farm equipment rebounded
1989 - More farmers began to use low-input sustainable agriculture (LISA) techniques to decrease chemical applications

21st century

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