By: Mrs. Sheffield
 Identify
the scope of agriculture and
its effect upon society.
 Discuss significant historical
agricultural developments.
 Identify the interdependency of
agriculture and the environment.
 Analyze the four main regions of
American agriculture
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Definition: the science, art, or practice of
cultivating the soil, producing crops, and
raising livestock and in varying degrees the
preparation and marketing of the resulting
products.
Modern definition is changing!
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Biotechnology
Renewable energy sources
Biofuels
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
1.
Prehistoric
2.
Ag through the Roman Period
3.
Feudal
4.
Scientific
6th per. 9/3
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Neolithic culture
Change from gathering to production Ag
Began by noting which plants were wild
then saved seeds to replant
Goats and sheep herds were started from
wild animals
Lived in caves or small houses of mud
and wood
Early tools made of wood and stone
2500 BC to AD 500
 Introduction of metals
 Grapes, wine, and olive oil traded
 Rye and oats cultivated
 Storage improved
 Irrigation developed
 Mixed farming
increased
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Began soon after the fall of the Roman
Empire (about AD 1100)
Irrigation allowed Egypt to sell wheat in
international market
◦ Flooding of the Nile River
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Oranges, lemons, peaches, and apricots
were cultivated
Wool, leather, and linen were
used for clothing
1st per. 9/3
6th per. 9/4
Started after decline of feudalism in
approximately AD 1500
 Cultivation of sugar, cotton, tobacco,
and tea for cash crops
 Selective breeding of livestock – late
1700s
 John Deere introduced the
steel plow in 1837
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Steam engine – late 1800’s
 Better transportation
 Increased food production due to a
population explosion
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◦ Immigrants & “Baby boom”
◦ Post-Civil War / Reconstruction
Originally dependant on European
sources for seed, stocks, livestock,
and machinery
 20th century-steam, gas, diesel, and
electrical power used
 Chemical fertilizers, conservation
techniques, selective breeding
developed further
 Standards set
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Northeast and Lake States
◦ Milk producing area
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Appalachian region
◦ Tobacco
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Southeast States
◦ Beef cattle & Broilers
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Delta States
◦ Soybeans & Cotton
1st per. 9/4
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Corn Belt (Ohio to Iowa)
◦ Corn, beef, hogs, dairy products
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Northern & Southern Plains
◦ Winter & Spring wheat
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Mountain States
◦ Cattle & Sheep (wheat in the North)
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Pacific Region
◦ Wheat, fruit, potatoes
Pacific Coast
Mountain Region
Northern & Southern
Plains
Delta States
Southeast Region
Appalachian Region
Corn Belt
Northeast & Lake
Regions
The Maritimes
Eastern Canada
Prairie Provinces &
Western Canada
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1935: 6.8 million farms
◦ Average farm size was 155 acres
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2007: just under 2.1 million farms
◦ Average farm size was 449 acres
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So, what does that mean?
◦ Number of farms is going down, while the
average farm size is increasing
◦ Commercialization
By: Mrs. Sheffield
Before any civilization could exist and
flourish, a strong agricultural base
had to be established
 “Without food to feed all of the people
little progress can be made by any
people”
 Determines (in part) the wealth of a
nation
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90% of colonists made their living
through agriculture at the time of the
American Revolution
 South becomes major center for cotton
production
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◦ Shipped to Europe in exchange for
manufactured goods
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1790: Eli Whitney invents cotton engine
◦ South settled due to cotton farming
John Deere’s steel plow in 1837
helped Midwest farmers plow thick,
clay soils
 1831, Cyrus McCormick invents
machine used for reaping wheat
 Internal combustion engine has
revolutionary effect on agriculture
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◦ Work time drastically cut down
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1862 - Land Grant (Morrill Act):
provides each state with public land to
build a college for “the common
people”
◦ Proposed by Justin Morrill
“A&M” universities – teach agriculture
and mechanics
 1862 – President Lincoln established
Unites States Department of Agriculture
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Hatch Act (1872):
6TH per. 9/8
◦ Established experiment stations in states
with land grant colleges
◦ Purpose was to create new knowledge in
Agriculture through experimentation
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Land Grant Act (1890):
◦ Provided additional colleges which African
Americans and other minorities could
afford
◦ Example: Prairie View A&M
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Smith Hughes Act (1917):
◦ Established Vocational Agriculture in public
high schools
Alabama Polytechnic Institute
Vocational Ag 1926
 What
percent of American colonists
made their living through agriculture
during the Revolution?
 John Deere’s plow was made out of??
 Where did most cotton produced in
America go?
 In what century did selective breeding
of livestock begin?
 Which
time period developed
irrigation?
 Which time period did transportation
improve?
 Which region in the U.S. produces the
most milk?
 Invention of the ___________ engine
had a revolutionary effect on ag.
 Who
invented the cotton engine?
 Who invented a machine for reaping
wheat?
 Who proposed the land grant
universities act?
 What were colleges called that taught
Agriculture & Mechanics?
 Which government agency did
President Lincoln establish in 1862?