Deborah Fitzgerald
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300088137
- eISBN:
- 9780300133417
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300088137.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This book traces the diffusion of industrial agriculture by looking closely at the main components of this process in its first generation, between 1918 and 1930. The story begins in 1918 because a ...
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This book traces the diffusion of industrial agriculture by looking closely at the main components of this process in its first generation, between 1918 and 1930. The story begins in 1918 because a number of new, large-scale farms began operation then and were described in the national press as bellwethers of a new industrial farming era. The number of these farms continued to grow through the 1920s, peaking in 1929. The book examines the contextual gridwork on which the transformation from traditional to industrial agriculture hung, and discusses the great diversity of American rural landscapes and the farm products that came from them, as well as their amenability to the industrializing push. It also examines the role of World War I in destabilizing both farm production and rural expectations. After exploring the intriguing and ultimately irresistible attraction of new factories and businesses that promoted rational management and mechanization, and which seemed a fitting model for agriculture, the book discusses the development of two metrics that were used to frame and maintain the industrializing impulse: quantification and mechanization. It also explores the emergence of agricultural economics as an academic discipline, and its practical application in farm communities and federal agencies.Less
This book traces the diffusion of industrial agriculture by looking closely at the main components of this process in its first generation, between 1918 and 1930. The story begins in 1918 because a number of new, large-scale farms began operation then and were described in the national press as bellwethers of a new industrial farming era. The number of these farms continued to grow through the 1920s, peaking in 1929. The book examines the contextual gridwork on which the transformation from traditional to industrial agriculture hung, and discusses the great diversity of American rural landscapes and the farm products that came from them, as well as their amenability to the industrializing push. It also examines the role of World War I in destabilizing both farm production and rural expectations. After exploring the intriguing and ultimately irresistible attraction of new factories and businesses that promoted rational management and mechanization, and which seemed a fitting model for agriculture, the book discusses the development of two metrics that were used to frame and maintain the industrializing impulse: quantification and mechanization. It also explores the emergence of agricultural economics as an academic discipline, and its practical application in farm communities and federal agencies.
Deborah Fitzgerald
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300088137
- eISBN:
- 9780300133417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300088137.003.0005
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This chapter considers the emergence of large-scale farms, which were the most visible example of the changes in the first decade of the twentieth century. Not all such farms were industrial in ...
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This chapter considers the emergence of large-scale farms, which were the most visible example of the changes in the first decade of the twentieth century. Not all such farms were industrial in exactly the same way, but all were considered unusual for their grasp of modern techniques and approaches to production. A number of the large-scale farms emerging in the 1920s offered themselves as spectacles to the curious, and seemed amazing to many for their size, for the number of livestock all in one place, or for the machine-like efficiency with which work was done. The chapter shows that during the 1920s, industrial farming concepts found their way onto real farms in America. It also reveals that the principles of efficiency, managerial oversight and planning, reliance on experts, mechanization, and large-scale operations moved from classrooms, lecture halls, and federal agencies to the rural countryside.Less
This chapter considers the emergence of large-scale farms, which were the most visible example of the changes in the first decade of the twentieth century. Not all such farms were industrial in exactly the same way, but all were considered unusual for their grasp of modern techniques and approaches to production. A number of the large-scale farms emerging in the 1920s offered themselves as spectacles to the curious, and seemed amazing to many for their size, for the number of livestock all in one place, or for the machine-like efficiency with which work was done. The chapter shows that during the 1920s, industrial farming concepts found their way onto real farms in America. It also reveals that the principles of efficiency, managerial oversight and planning, reliance on experts, mechanization, and large-scale operations moved from classrooms, lecture halls, and federal agencies to the rural countryside.
Deborah Fitzgerald
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300088137
- eISBN:
- 9780300133417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300088137.003.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This chapter introduces twentieth-century agriculture and the “farm crises” of the 1920s and 1980s. In the mid-1980s, a disturbing phenomenon began occurring in rural America. In the preceding ...
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This chapter introduces twentieth-century agriculture and the “farm crises” of the 1920s and 1980s. In the mid-1980s, a disturbing phenomenon began occurring in rural America. In the preceding decade, farm advisers and agricultural business dealers counseled many families to enlarge their farms, increase their herds, and purchase bigger, more sophisticated machinery so that they could take advantage of an exploding world market for American farm products. After a few years, however, market slowdowns became contractions, and many families ultimately found themselves unable to sell all that they had produced on the farm, at any price. The chapter examines this “farm crisis,” which was devastating to many families who had long prided themselves on their conservative business dealings and good judgment. It reveals that the “farm crisis” of the 1980s seemed to echo an earlier collapse, the farm crisis of the 1920s.Less
This chapter introduces twentieth-century agriculture and the “farm crises” of the 1920s and 1980s. In the mid-1980s, a disturbing phenomenon began occurring in rural America. In the preceding decade, farm advisers and agricultural business dealers counseled many families to enlarge their farms, increase their herds, and purchase bigger, more sophisticated machinery so that they could take advantage of an exploding world market for American farm products. After a few years, however, market slowdowns became contractions, and many families ultimately found themselves unable to sell all that they had produced on the farm, at any price. The chapter examines this “farm crisis,” which was devastating to many families who had long prided themselves on their conservative business dealings and good judgment. It reveals that the “farm crisis” of the 1980s seemed to echo an earlier collapse, the farm crisis of the 1920s.
Christopher R. Henke
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262083737
- eISBN:
- 9780262275286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262083737.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
This book focuses on the cooperation between scientists and agricultural growers over solving problems associated with building California’s farm industry. The use of methods such as ...
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This book focuses on the cooperation between scientists and agricultural growers over solving problems associated with building California’s farm industry. The use of methods such as participant-observation fieldwork, semistructured interviews, and analysis of historical documents for understanding the importance of the interrelationship between science and industrial agriculture is discussed. Changes in the U.S. agriculture agrarian ideal, with respect to industrialization and social change during the nineteenth century, are explored. Cooperative Extension history, in the context of the U.S., California, and the Salinas Valley, is discussed along with the response of growers and advisors at the time of the farm labor crisis during World War II. The book presents information on the use of field trials by farm advisors to collect data on new farm practices.Less
This book focuses on the cooperation between scientists and agricultural growers over solving problems associated with building California’s farm industry. The use of methods such as participant-observation fieldwork, semistructured interviews, and analysis of historical documents for understanding the importance of the interrelationship between science and industrial agriculture is discussed. Changes in the U.S. agriculture agrarian ideal, with respect to industrialization and social change during the nineteenth century, are explored. Cooperative Extension history, in the context of the U.S., California, and the Salinas Valley, is discussed along with the response of growers and advisors at the time of the farm labor crisis during World War II. The book presents information on the use of field trials by farm advisors to collect data on new farm practices.
Barry Riley
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190228873
- eISBN:
- 9780190228903
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190228873.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Modern American food aid cannot be understood without understanding the plight of the rural farmer between the two world wars. At the end of World War I, these farmers, responding to Hoover’s call to ...
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Modern American food aid cannot be understood without understanding the plight of the rural farmer between the two world wars. At the end of World War I, these farmers, responding to Hoover’s call to “plow to the fences,” were suddenly producing far too much for a world rapidly returning to peacetime. Farmers had bought additional land on credit. Now they lacked sufficient income to make payment of the loans. Defaults mounted; rural banks padlocked their doors by the thousands. Presidents Coolidge and Hoover sought private rather than public remedies, but without success. Bills sent to the White House to provide relief to farmers were vetoed. When Roosevelt arrived in the White House, millions of tons of grain were rotting in storage across the country because consumers were too poor to pay enough for basic foodstuffs to enable farmers to earn enough to survive.Less
Modern American food aid cannot be understood without understanding the plight of the rural farmer between the two world wars. At the end of World War I, these farmers, responding to Hoover’s call to “plow to the fences,” were suddenly producing far too much for a world rapidly returning to peacetime. Farmers had bought additional land on credit. Now they lacked sufficient income to make payment of the loans. Defaults mounted; rural banks padlocked their doors by the thousands. Presidents Coolidge and Hoover sought private rather than public remedies, but without success. Bills sent to the White House to provide relief to farmers were vetoed. When Roosevelt arrived in the White House, millions of tons of grain were rotting in storage across the country because consumers were too poor to pay enough for basic foodstuffs to enable farmers to earn enough to survive.