Progress in Agriculture

Objective: Summarize historical agriculture discoveries that increased the global production of food and fiber

Progress Through Engineering

Little progress in agriculture is recorded before 1800 AD

The use of Iron revolutionized American and European agriculture

Most of the world did not catch on as fast

Progress Through Engineering

Mechanization helps 2% of America’s work force meet the food and fiber needs of our nation

There has been a reduction of 90% in production farming in the last 200 years

Eli Whitney Invented the cotton

gin 1793 Transformed cotton

to a usable product Removed cotton

seed from cotton fiber

Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin

Katherine Greene Widow of

Revolutionary general, Nathaniel Greene

Whitney worked on Ms. Greene’s farm

Some say Ms. Greene invented the cotton gin

Cyrus McCormick

Invented the grain reaper

1834 Cut grains

Cut wheat, oats, and other crops

Cutting Grain With the sickle

or reaping hook one man could cut from one-half to one acre in a hard day's work.

The cut grain was later bound by hand

The Reaper

The Reaper

While this first machine required only 2 people for operation (a person to ride the horse and a man to rake the cut grain from the platform), it cut as much grain in one day as 12-16 men with reaping hooks.

Grain Reaper

McCormick Reaper

Cast Iron Plow

Invented in the early 1800’s

Thomas Jefferson

Rough surface that dirt stuck to

Steel Moldboard Plow

Invented 1837 John Deere Smoother surface Rich clay soil did not

stick to it Made plowing easier

and faster

Corn Picker Invented in 1850Edmund QuincyHelped speed

up the harvesting of corn

Corn Picker

Modern Corn Picker

Milking Machine Invented in 1878Anna BaldwinUsed vacuum

suctionReplaced hand

milking

Modern Milking Machine

Modern Milking Machine

Tractor

Invented in 1904Benjamin HoltReplaced the

mule as a source of power Horse power

1849 - 1920

Steam powered Caterpillar tractor built by Holt in 1908.

Trends in Agriculture

World OutlookThe world

population will continue to grow because More children

are surviving to adulthood

More adults are living longer

World OutlookPopulation growth will:

Add stress to environmental systems of air, water, soil, and natural resources

Create challenges to meet the demands for food and fiber (clothing and shelter)

World OutlookAgriculture will always be an essential

industry Increased commercialization of

agriculture will continueNew types of farming such as

aquaculture will be used as well as traditional farming methods

World OutlookThe science of food production,

processing, and distribution will require: College graduates to fill roles as scientists,

engineers, and other professionals Careers in agriscience products and

distribution to grade, transport, process, package and market agriculture commodities.

World OutlookThe projection is for the average size of

farms in the U.S. to increase while the number of farms decrease.

Commodities In the mid 1990s, the number one meat

export as far as tonnage shipped from the U.S. was poultry.

CommoditiesCorn ranks in the top five U.S. grain

exports year after year.

Commodities In North Carolina the top three

agricultural commodities in terms of cash receipts in the late 1990s were hogs, broilers, and tobacco.

CommoditiesSoybeans are the world’s most

important source of vegetable oil and provide basic materials for hundreds of products.

Green Revolution vs. Green Industry

Green RevolutionThe Green Revolution was the process

where many countries became self-sufficient in food production by using improved crop varieties and practices.

Green IndustryGreen Industry is the modern

horticulture industry with emphasis on turf and landscape plants.