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Eli Whitney Invents the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin removed seeds from picked cotton. The number of slaves increased drastically due to the increase in demand for cotton. Large plantations began to form as the native Americans and smaller farms were forced to move. -
Cyrus McCormick invents the mechanical reaper
Was used to harvest wheat faster. For hundreds of years, farmers and field workers had to harvest crops by hand using a sickle or other methods, which was an arduous task at best. -
John Deere manufactured plows
Allowed the ground to be plowed and cultivated. Very few improvements were made to the plow over the centuries, but in 1837 the polished steel plow became a turning point for farming. -
Civil War took place 1861-1865
it was between northern states loyal to the Union and southern states that had seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. -
Morrill Land Grant Act - established schools to teach about farming.
This law gave states public lands provided the lands be sold or used for profit and the proceeds used to establish at least one college—hence, land grant colleges—that would teach agriculture and the mechanical arts. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Slavery reached its peak and was abolished by Lincoln. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
The Transcontinental Railroad was completed.
On this day in 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S. history. -
Hatch Act was passed - established experiment stations at land grant colleges.
They gave federal funds, initially of $15,000 each, to state land-grant colleges in order to create a series of agricultural experiment stations, as well as pass along new information, especially in the areas of soil minerals and plant growth. -
1890 - Benjamin Holt invents the steam-powered tractor
Holt began building steam traction engines in 1890 with his first, "Betsy," 24' long and weighing 24,000 pounds. A single 10 1/4" x 12" cylinder developed 40 to 70 horsepower, depending on the steam pressure. -
1914 - Smith-Lever Act passed established extension services from land grant colleges
The Smith-Lever Act established a national Cooperative Extension Service that extended outreach programs through land-grant universities to educate rural Americans about advances in agricultural practices and technology. -
WWI - caused the nation to transition away from agriculture toward an industrial power 1914-1918
When war broke out in Europe in 1914 President Wilson declared that the United States would follow a strict policy of neutrality. Put simply the United States did not concern itself with events and alliances in Europe and thus stayed out of the war. -
Smith-Hughes Act - allowed agriculture to be taught in high schools.
Smith-Hughes Act, formally National Vocational Education Act, U.S. legislation, adopted in 1917, that provided federal aid to the states for the purpose of promoting precollegiate vocational education in agricultural and industrial trades and in home economics. -
Beginning of the Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was the name given to the drought-stricken Southern Plains region of the United States, which suffered severe dust storms during a dry period in the 1930s. As high winds and choking dust swept the region from Texas to Nebraska, people and livestock were killed and crops failed across the entire region. -
1WWII - Led to the advancement of US industry, took labor away from the farms 1939-1945
Farmers Produce More Food for War in World War II. As the war approached, it got worse for farmers before it got better. Farming exports fell 30 to 40 percent below the average of the ten depression years that preceded the war. Grain exports, for example, fell 30 percent in one year between September 1939 and 1940. -
Norman Borlaug is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his high yielding wheat varieties
In 1970 Norman E. Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for a lifetime of work to feed a hungry world. -
Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen create the first genetically engineered organism.
They demonstrated that the gene for frog ribosomal RNA could be transferred into bacterial cells and expressed by them. The restriction enzyme EcoRI was used to cut the frog DNA into small segments. -
Integrated Pest Management begins to become a more popular practice in farming.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. -
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is passed.
The agreement's supporters included 132 Republicans and 102 Democrats. The bill passed the Senate on November 20, 1993, 61–38.
