Adventures in Educational Technology

Agricultural Technology’s Modern History in the United States

Essential Questions:

How did the invention of agriculture change human culture?
How has the technology changed our culture?

Agriculture has been around since the beginning of time, and was even documented in the first book of the Bible where God entrusts Adam and Eve with the cultivation and caretaking of his most beautiful natural work, The Garden of Eden. It is not documented the methods that were used by Adam and Eve to be stewards of the land God had granted them, however, it is noted that Adam was punished by being cast out of the Garden and God said to him, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return,” (Genesis 3:17-19 New International Version). Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, it is difficult to deny that even with the modern technological innovations present in agriculture; it is definitely a labor intensive practice that is a dying “art” among citizens of the United States. From the year 2002 to 2007, the United States experienced a decrease of 16,183,216 acres used for farming of any type (United States Department of Agriculture, 2011). With the continued trends in land prices and bureaucratic policies discouraging many small and large-scale operations, agriculture is a practice that is quickly becoming extinct, not because of technological advances but because of the changes in bureaucracy and work ethic developed throughout the past few decades.

Agriculture as a practice, art, and technology has changed the world and touches the life of every person on the planet many times each day. From the food we consume to the clothes we wear, agriculture and the technology surrounding it is evident and omnipresent. The term agriculture is defined as, “the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products,” (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2011). The word “agriculture” is self-defining as “agri” is Latin for field, land, or farm, and culture is a collection of behaviors and beliefs shared by a population. Because agriculture is such an all-encompassing topic, it is beneficial to examine how agriculture as a technology and agricultural technology has changed the culture of the world, more specifically the culture of the United States in “modern” times, roughly from the 1980’s until present times. Although the discussion of agriculture on a global scale is worthwhile, it would take a much more detailed and thoroughly researched paper to serve the topic and its warranted discussion.

The United States Department of Agriculture oversees many areas of the agricultural arena that are generally localized in many areas, but widespread in others. For example, consumable field crops can cover an array of horticultural products such as corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum, and rice which produce goods that are harvested for consumption by humans and animals, as well as other products. These types of products are usually grown in the mid-west on larger farms with several hundred to several thousand acres. With land prices soaring, sometimes as high as $10,000 an acre, it is shocking to read from American history, “At all events, farmers were considered so prosperous that the value of farm lands had risen during the decade 1900 to 1910 from an average of $19.30 per acre to $39.50 or slightly more than 100 percent” (Schafer, 1936). Another major agricultural production area in the United States is the raising, breeding, and selling of livestock, which can include cattle, swine, sheep, horses, llamas, alpacas, poultry, goats, and other animals used for their meat, wool, or byproducts. Livestock production is popular in many small farms as machinery and labor costs are more affordable for this type of farming. The production of cotton, hemp, lumber, and other “non-consumable” products make up a very large portion of United States Agriculture as well, and have “mixed” demographical characteristics as crops such as cotton and lumber require incredibly involved and expensive machinery to produce and process, and other products such as hemp require less machinery and input costs similar to small livestock production. Obviously, there are many other agricultural products produced and harvested in the United States and the rest of the world; however these will be the main focus of this cultural study.

Agriculture itself is a technology, which is defined as “a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge” (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2011). When the earliest man discovered that a seed could be planted that would grow a plant, an animal could be slaughtered for meat, or a cotton plant used to clothe himself, the technology of agriculture was born, as the definition states all of these are processes, methods, or knowledge. When one thinks about agriculture technology, our mind usually turns directly to farm machinery and implements, which is only part of agricultural technology, although probably the most impressive as feats of engineering have taken farming to a level of proportions that our ancestors would not have believed possible. The area of scientific engineering and genetic modification is one that has sparked debate, but more impressively has produced new and innovative breeds of plants and animals that increase and add to the production value and efficiency of livestock farmers worldwide. Although these areas are the most popular and relevant to agriculture today, there are many groundbreaking agricultural technologies in the works that involve elements as simple as gates, hand tools, or grain storage and housing. The fact is, agriculture has experienced changes that are almost impossible to calculate or imagine the implications of in the past century, and with the boom in microcomputers, the Internet, and GPS technologies, since the 1980’s.

Machinery for agriculture dates back to the earliest of civilization and included “tools” such as sticks, rocks, and other primitive objects used to assist in soil cultivation or slaughtering of animals. Even the hands of a person are considered to be agricultural technology, which is part of the psychological reason that farmers and those who have chosen agriculture to become their profession are revered as hard-working, honest, and ethical individuals. With Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793 and Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper in 1863 (American Inventors, 2008), the field of agricultural technology in the United States began its meteoric rise to become a world leader in agricultural production and innovations, where it remains accompanied by several European nations. Although the tractor is mostly commonly viewed as the most popular piece of agriculture technology, it did not become popular until the machinery and industrialization eras where mass production of this equipment became possible to provide heavy equipment to farms at a reasonable price. John Deere is one of the most famous and profitable companies in America, however this fame came from invention of the moldboard plow instead of the farm tractor as many believe. In fact, “In 1877, the demand for an efficient, accurate corn planter was growing, and two Moline, Illinois, businessmen decided to help meet it. Charles Deere, John Deere's son, and Alvah Mansur, a business partner of the Deere’s for nearly 20 years, established the Deere & Mansur Company to manufacture planters (John Deere, Inc., 2011). As technology has evolved and produced immeasurable innovations, the basic design of most large agriculture machinery has remained constant and only added features instead of basic design.

Science has been the driving force behind agriculture since the beginning of the technology that we know. However, there are many scientific areas of study and practices that are involved with agriculture and the technology surrounding production. The science involved in modern agriculture production and innovations is often one that is seen as controversial and often debated as a result of some genetic modifications and chemical use that provide farmers with increased production and decreased labor costs, which will be discussed in later paragraphs. The United States Department of Agriculture, along with the Food and Drug Administration work together to regulate and research agricultural products, for food and other use, to determine if these products are safe to be available to the public and what restrictions may be applied. Although many Americans seldom think of or give consideration to the actual science behind agriculture, the field of agricultural science is a growing industry that is responsible for touching the lives’ of Americans many times every day.

Ask anyone in America and they will tell you that agriculture has shaped the culture of the American people, and continues to even as economic and political forces are in uproar. All humans must eat to survive, and this is as far as people tend to think about agriculture and the impact it has on the country as a whole. However, agricultural technology provides much more than food, which in itself provides cultural premise and frameworks for different populations and geographic areas of our country and world, agriculture technology provides glue for our milk cartons from corn byproducts to toilet paper from lumber harvested by millions of acres of forests that continue to cover our land. America is known for our rich and eccentric culture, and agriculture is responsible for a substantial portion of that cultural change and drive that defines the United States as a people. We will examine some of those cultural changes and how agriculture has acted as a catalyst for those changes.

The United States in the early Twentieth Century was a hotbed for innovations in mechanization and industrialism breakthroughs, and agriculture was a recipient of a large number of those technologies. During this time, America had only a few major industries, and agriculture was one of the most profitable and cost-effective method for earning a living for many American families who resided outside of cities and small towns. Much of the equipment and machinery operated in the years 1900-1940 approximately was what we would consider primitive today but met the needs of farmers during the time which provided a level of efficiency, although low compared to today’s standards, that was considered to be a vital characteristic of any person or their trade. Those residing in cities and towns were exposed to propaganda provided by the US Government that depicted the boom in agriculture production, which would ultimately send the United States on a fast track to “the good life” for all citizens who could feast upon the goods produced by the nation’s rich soil. However, what was not seen or heard were the horrifying statistics involving the amount of agricultural machinery related deaths and dismemberments from a lack of safety equipment and practices by agricultural workers of the time.

Not exclusive to agriculture, machines and innovations designed during the early to mid-Twentieth century were extremely unsafe and presented various hazards to workers and operators of the equipment designed during the time period. However, in the rush to win the technological “race,” the United States failed to regulate working conditions and therefore bypassed a majority of safety measures that cost thousands of lives, and injured even more as a result of this neglect. Because the number of factory and machine workers were concentrated in cities such as Chicago and New York, labor unions were formed to protect the rights and safety of those employed by many industries, which has changed the landscape of the American working culture forever, as well as having a tremendous sordid past in politics and practices deemed unethical with policy makers worldwide. However, agricultural workers and operators were mostly self-employed or employed by individual farmers, so a union was not practical as unions require numerous employees to become effective, which resulted in a slower response from agriculture in providing safer equipment and practices for its’ workers.

As time passed, and agricultural innovations continued to evolve into more efficient and streamlined processes and machines that made production levels unheard of in prior decades, we have come to a modern time in agriculture where technology has truly infiltrated the field more than ever before and brought new innovations, and debates along with it. Smart phones, machines, and technological advances in the farm machinery of today including tractors and equipment that are operated primarily by technology and sometimes completely operated by computers and similar equipment. For example, John Deere has a proprietary GPS program installed in most of its new tractors called Green Star that provides automatic steering, application, and harvesting applications that are hands-free for farmers. This provides a precision method of farming and tractor operation that cannot be duplicated by even the most veteran equipment operators. At one time, equipment such as back-up cameras, monitoring systems, and automated machinery would have been considered a “future” technology, but is now common-place in most farming operations.

In the past two decades, the practice of agriculture has continued to impact and change the culture of the United States in ways that are immeasurable, and will impact our future generations in ways that one can only imagine. In just the past three decades, the amount of land used for agricultural purposes has decreased sharply and a drive in the “country” is not what it used to be. Urban sprawl has caused the destruction and consumption of land that could be used for farming used to house millions of “suburbanites” and their families. The problem with an increasing population is an increasing problem to find enough land to ensure housing for Americans and their children and grandchildren. Living in the suburbs has become the place to be, and keeping up with the “Jones’s” has become a race to the subdivisions. Instead of flocking to the cities, Americans decided that they could have the best of both worlds by migrating and constructing suburbs close to cities but far enough away to enjoy the “best that nature has to offer.”

With the boom of subdivisions came increased prices for farm land that homeowners and contractors were willing to pay to build “Stepford-like” neighborhoods for their clients to reside in. These increased land prices prompted many farmers to sell their land at increased prices to provide lucrative profits. The sale of land with inflated prices was only a small catalyst of the housing boom and initial devastating crash experienced recently. Not only were homeowners hurt in the price inflation of land, but those aspiring to begin farming to carve out a life working the land that would be completely sufficient to support a family with for many years. However, in most of the United States, such a practice is virtually impossible unless the aspiring farmer inherits land, equipment, and the knowledge to become a successful farmer, as Jim Hightower said, “Little ol' boy in the Panhandle told me the other day you can still make a small fortune in agriculture. Problem is, you got to start with a large one,” (ThinkExist, 2011). The input cost to successfully grow crops and survive from the sale profits of crops and livestock is too great to account for the risk of beginning the practice of farming. As opposed to the humble beginnings that the practice of farming encompassed since the settlement of America, modern agriculture practices and farming have become applications that are almost impossible to successfully accomplish without extremely good luck or an initial amount of start-up capital that can cover the expenses that are inevitable.

Since the cost of starting a farm or agricultural production business has soared, many Americans are turning to the practice of small or “mini” farming, where less than 25 acres are used for the cultivation of an agricultural product or practice. This can mean that farmers are producing anything from llamas to vegetables, or anything in-between. “Small family farms account for most U.S. farms and farm assets. Small family farms (sales less than $250,000) accounted for 90 percent of U.S. farms in 2004. They also held about 68 percent of all farm assets, including 61 percent of the land owned by farms” (Hoppe, Korb, O'Donoghue, & Baker, 2008). With this shift in farming practices, small farming has made agriculture accessible for the average American with a few acres that they would like to utilize for profit. The federal and individual state governments have numerous resources for funding and assistance available for those interested in pursuing agriculture on a smaller scale, and at present, agricultural small farms qualify as a “small business,” and have access to other grants and subsidies that will make their search for adequate funding a smooth and efficient process. The growth of local farmers markets and the rejection of mass produced produce by many individuals have spurred a movement among small communities and towns to provide home grown produce to consumers who are skeptical of the current practices of large farms and their chemical and pesticide usage. With the amount of information now available to consumers, there is adequate information and a case to be made against the use of many chemicals and pesticides used on crops used for food consumption in today’s market.

As mentioned previously, agriculture is an all-encompassing practice and technology that has impacted the lives’ of everyone on the planet, and with that type of impact on a global level, one can correctly assume that there is no shortage of debate over the issues that face agriculture, and the debate involves everyone from the farmer to the consumer and beyond. A debate over the organic process of growing and producing anything from vegetables to cotton is gaining steam as consumers learn about some side-effects of chemical and pesticide use on the products that they consume on a daily basis. “The concept (organic farming) took shape as a movement in the 1960s and as a mainstream market from the early 1990s. This was mostly as a result of public scandals such as the one in 1989 when American researchers announced that Alar or diaminozide, a ripening agent commonly used in apples, was found to have caused tumors in lab animals and was a potential carcinogen,” (Suutari, 2011). Since that time, the organic industry has grown exponentially and gained steam as well-known Hollywood Actors/Actresses as well as Politicians and other notables have joined in the mission to promote organic agriculture and the products produced from the practice.

Although many outsiders feel that organic farming is comparable to farming at the turn of the Twentieth Century, technology such as machinery and equipment is “allowed” to be utilized in every aspect of the process. However, chemicals and pesticides that contain non-naturally occurring substances and additives are strictly prohibited in field crops. In livestock, animals may not be fed any types of grains or feeds that contain non-naturally occurring ingredients or substances, or receive immunizations other than basic naturally occurring shots such as vitamins. The regulations surrounding the labeling of products as “organically certified” by the Food and Drug Administration are extremely rigid and regulated extensively at this point in time. There have been complaints, however that some products are not truly organic, but being sold as such which brings much higher profits as consumers are willing to pay substantially more for the products. The jury is still out on whether organically grown and certified food and products are truly more beneficial for consumers, however it would stand to reason that given the history of the discovery of many negative effects of chemicals on the human body that eventually solid studies will find that same is true with crops grown with chemically treated seeds and pesticides.

Although the organic movement and trend seems to be growing daily, the “chemically-enhanced” method of farming is still prevailing in the United States, and will more than likely remain the norm until positive evidence finds otherwise. However, even with the chemical enhancements developed by scientists and multi-billion dollar companies such as Monsanto, Syngenta, Pioneer, and others, farmers using this technology still struggle with their own group of problems. One of the many emerging problems occurring at present is the evolution of breeds of weeds and pests that are resistant to herbicides and pesticides that have been traditionally used to control their growth and major outbreaks which can cause millions of dollars’ worth of damage to crops and livestock that are effected by. Just as nature works to provide a chance for all species of living thing to evolve, plants and pests have reached points where they are unable to be killed by modern methods and chemical use. Although agricultural scientific technology works to address and solve these problems, nature will continue to evolve and manufacture methods for plants and animals to survive regardless of the circumstances.

With the growth of agriculture and the technological methods to produce higher yields and products, an influx in immigrant labor has become an issue that reaches beyond the field of agriculture and into the political arena causing backlash from voters and citizens, as well as immigrants that have cost thousands of lives’ as a result of those fighting to stay in America, and those who wish them to leave. Granted, not all immigrants are in the United States to earn a living working in agriculture, and there are a major percentage who are in America to traffic illegal substances and commit crimes, however with the United States Constitutional Laws and Amendments, the purpose of those immigrants is not addressed, only the proper procedure to become a United States citizen, which has been bypassed almost unknowingly by the droves of people coming to the country. Many of these immigrants have found work in the agricultural field, working to complete tasks and fill jobs that most Americans would not do. However, this has provided yet another issue of substandard working conditions and pay which has not been regulated as a result of these workers who are willing to perform whatever tasks necessary and take whatever pay is given in order for themselves and their families to stay in America. As this issue becomes an ever-growing concern for almost every American citizen and has been forced to the forefront by the recent assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona, who supports allowing illegal immigrants to gain citizenship status, which is vehemently opposed in much of the Southwest. Unfortunately, agricultural technology is not designed or able to “fix” this issue, but instead technology provides channels of communication to bring this issue to the public.

Agricultural technology is an aspect of life that is ever present and will not ever disappear from our lives’ as long as we continue to eat and consume products, natural or derivatives of such. This is the main reason that every American is responsible for understanding what agricultural technology brings us, and the many things that it has provided to us. If it were not for agricultural innovations, engineering, and technology, the world would be in a mode of starvation at present, as we would not be able to support billions of people without these technologies. The field of farming should be one that is revered, respected, and reserved for those who understand the earth and are good stewards of the bounty that nature provides to those who know how to make these elements work harmoniously together. However, as the population of the earth increases exponentially every year, it is important to ensure that we maintain the land and elements necessary to provide food and goods for all those who inhabit the earth. Technology can provide the methods and machinery in order to most efficiently produce the crops, livestock, and goods that will reap the most benefit and provide the maximum amount of pleasure and products.

Agricultural technology is only as beneficial as the engineers and farmers behind it. To survive as a planet, we must ensure that these professions are filled by the most effective and trained people available. To ensure those people are available, the practices of farming, both traditionally and organically must be supported not only by the government, but by all of those who consume goods provided by farmers, and that would be us all.

Works Cited

American Inventors. (2008). American Inventors: Cyrus McCormick. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from American Inventors: http://www.american-inventor.com/cyrus-mccormick.aspx

Hoppe, R. A., Korb, P., O'Donoghue, E. J., & Baker, D. E. (2008, November 7). Report Summary: Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms Family Report 2007. Retrieved July 2011, 27, from United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/eib24/eib24_reportsummary.html

John Deere, Inc. (2011). John Deere - The Plowshare. Retrieved July 24, 2011, from John Deere: http://www.deere.com/en_US/docs/Corporate/fans_visitors/publications/plowshare_jun11.pdf

Merriam-Webster, Inc. (2011). Merriam-Webster Dictionary - Agriculture. Retrieved July 11, 2011, from Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agriculture

Schafer, J. (1936). The Social History of American Agriculture. New York: The Macmillan Company.

Suutari, A. (2011). USA/Canada - The Organic Farming Movement in North America. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from The EcoTipping Points Project: Models for Success in a Time of Crisis: http://www.ecotippingpoints.org/our-stories/indepth/usa-canada-sustainable-organic-farming.html

ThinkExist. (2011). Jim Hightower Quotes. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from ThinkExist.com Quotations: http://thinkexist.com/quotation/little_ol-boy_in_the_panhandle_told_me_the_other/211190.html

United States Department of Agriculture. (2011). Land in Farms - Change in Acreage: 2002 to 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2011, from United States Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Statistics Service: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Online_Highlights/Ag_Atlas_Maps/Farms/Land_in_Farms_and_Land_Use/07-M078-RGBDot2-largetext.pdf

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