History of AmericanFarm Technology

16th- 18th Centuries

• 18th. Century• 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

1776-99

• 1790’s- Cradle and scythe introduced.

• 1793-Invention of cotton gin.

• 1794-Thomas Jefferson’s moldboard

tested.• 1797-Charles

Newbold patented first cast-iron plow.

Cotton Gin.

The scythe

1800-1829

• 1819-Jethro Wood patented iron plow with interchangeable parts.

• 1819-25-U.S. Food canning industry established.

1830’s

• 1830-About 250-300 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat.

1830’s

• 1834 – McCormick reaper patented.

• 1834-McCormick reaper patented.

• John Lane began to manufacture plows faced with steel saw blades. The McCormick

Reaper.

1830’s

• 1837-John Deere and Leonard Andrus began manufacturing steel plows.

• Practical threshing machine patented

John Deere

1840’s

• 1840’s-The growing use of factory-made agricultural machinery increased farmers’ need for cash and encouraged commercial farming.

1840’s

• 1841-Practical grain drill patented.

• 1842-First grain elevator, Buffalo, NY

• 1844-Practical mowing machine patented

• 1847-Irrigation begun in Utah

• 1849-Mixed chemical fertilizers sold commercially.

1850’s

• 1850-About 75-90 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels of corn (2 ½ acres)

• 1850-70 Expanded market for ag. Products brought adoption of improved technology and resulting increases in farm production.

1850’s

• 1854-Self-governing windmill perfected.

• 1856-2-horse straddle-row cultivator patented.

A windmill

1860’s

• Change from hand power to horse. The first Ag. Revolution.

• 1865-75 Gang plows and sulky plows came into use.

• 1868-Steam tractors were tried out.

• Spring-tooth harrow or seedbed preparation appeared.

1870’s

• 1870’s -Silos came into use.

• 1870’s-Deep-well drilling first widely used.

• 1874-Glidden barbed wire patented.

• Availability of barbed wire allowed fencing of rangeland, ending era of unrestricted open-range grazing.

1880’s

• 1880-William Deering put 3,000 twine binders on the market.

• 1884-90-Horse-drawn combine used in Pacific coast wheat areas.

A binder

1890’s

• 1890-95• Cream separators

came into wide use.• 1890-99-Average

annual consumption of commercial fertilizer:1,845,900 tons.

Cream seperators

1890’s

• 1890’s- Agriculture became increasingly mechanized and commercialized.

• 1890-35-40 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels of corn (2 ½ acres.)

1900’s

• 1900-1909-Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer:3,738,300 tons.

• 1900-1910-George Washington Carver, pioneered in new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, thus helping to diversify southern agriculture. George Washington Carver

1910’s

• 1910-1915-Big open geared gas tractors came into use in areas of extensive farming.

• 1915-20 Enclosed gears developed for tractors.

1918-Small prairie-type combine with auxiliary engine introduced.

1920’s

• 1920-1929-Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer:6,845,800 tons.

• 1920-40 Gradual increase in farm production resulting from expanded use of mechanized power.

• 1926- Successful light tractor develop.

A Fordson Tractor

1930’s

• 1930-39 Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer:6,599,913 tons.

• All-purpose, rubber-tired tractor with complementary machinery came into wide use.

1930’s

• 1930-One farmer supplied 9.8 persons in the United States and abroad.

• 15-20 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels of corn.

1940’s

• One farmer supplied 10.7 persons in the United States and abroad.

• 1941-45 Frozen foods popularized.

• Spindle cotton produced commercially.

1940’s

• 1945-Change from horses to tractors-The second great ag. Revolution.

• 10-14 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels of corn.

1950’s

• 1950-59-Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer: 22,340,666 tons.

• 1950-One farmer supplied 15.5 persons in the U.S. and abroad.

1950’s

• 1954-Number of tractors on farmers exceeded the number of horses and mules for first time.

• 1955- 6 ½ labor hours required to produce 100 acres of wheat.

1960’s

• 1960-One farmer supplied 25.8 persons in the United States and abroad.

• 1965-5 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels of wheat.

• 1965-Federal loans and grants for water/sewer systems began.

1970’s

• 1970’s No-tillage ag. popularized.

• One farmer supplied 75.8 persons in the U.S. and abroad.

• 1975-3 ½ hours labor hours required to produce 100 bushels of corn.

1980-1990

• 1980’s-More farmers use no-till or low till.

• 1987 2 ¾ hours required to produce 100 bushels of corn (1 1/8 ac.)

• 1989-More farmers began to use low-input sustainable agriculture, to decrease chemical applications.

Special Thanks To the U.S.D.A.

In the production ofthis presentation