HISTORICALLY, agriculture meant the practice of

Transcription

1 The Development of Mechanical Technology in Agriculture HISTORICALLY, agriculture meant the practice of farming or growing animals and plants. Today, it is better defined as the science and art of growing animals and plants while protecting the environment, accompanied by related activities involving supplies, services, mechanics, products, processing, and marketing. Actually, modern agriculture covers so many activities that a simple definition is not adequate. Agricultural mechanics has been a major component in the modernization of agriculture. Objective: Discuss the development of technology related to agricultural mechanics. (Courtesy, Agricultural Research Service, USDA) Key Term: agricultural mechanization The Development of Agricultural Mechanization One of the major changes in agriculture is the number of people needed to work on farms and ranches. In 1800 nearly 70 percent of the population lived and worked on farms or ranches. Today that figure is fewer than 2 percent. Technology has played a key role in this change, replacing manual labor for many jobs and tasks. The development of improved production practices has been an important factor in bringing this about. Agricultural mechanization is the power and machinery used to produce food and fiber from the land. Early equipment was made of wood and powered by hand or animals. One of the key early innovations was Ely Whitney s gin, a machine to remove seeds from cotton. Page 1 AgEdLibrary.com

2 Before this invention, the seeds were removed by hand. The seeds from long-staple varieties were easy to remove, but these varieties could be grown only along the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas. Upland cotton could be grown anywhere in the South, but the seeds were very hard to separate by hand. Whitney s gin not only saved time but also expanded the cottongrowing region. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY The limits of human and animal power prevented most production units from growing very large. Many early machines were designed and made by local blacksmiths. The plow and the grain harvester are examples of such early machines. They represent the new technology and advancement of their time. These two machines, created in the 1830s, revolutionized mechanical technology in agriculture. Farmers and farm machinery continued to evolve. The threshing machine replaced hand threshing, which would be replaced by the combine. Mechanization has played an important role in the productivity of agriculture. American inventors have created many of the world s important agricultural machines. Some of the key inventions are John Deere s plow, which was used to break up the tough sod found on the rich prairies. This invention allowed settlers to inhabit the entire Midwest and plains region. In the 1840s the first grain elevator was built. That same decade saw the invention of the first practical grain drill and the mowing machine, the start of mixed chemical fertilizer sales, and the beginning of irrigation in Utah. The 1850s found Edmund Quincy inventing the mechanical corn picker. Before this, all corn was harvested by hand. Other inventions included the self-governing windmill, the two-horse straddle-row cultivator, and mason jars used for home canning. FIGURE 1. This modern plow is a successor to John Deere s key invention that helped revolutionize agriculture. (Courtesy, Deere & Company) In the 1860s hand power changed to horse power, and the first agricultural revolution was set into motion. Gang plows and sulky plows, on which the operators rode, came into use. Steam traction engines were first used. The spring-tooth harrow for seedbed preparation appeared. The 1870s and 1880s saw the first silos and the use of deep well drilling. Barbed wire was patented, and fencing on the rangeland created ranches with definite boundaries. Twine bind- Page 2 AgEdLibrary.com

3 ers were marketed, hybrid corn was produced, and horse-drawn combines were used in the wheat region of the Pacific Northwest. Refrigerated freight cars were used for cross-country shipping. Refrigeration may have had a greater impact on agriculture and people than any other invention. Refrigeration permitted meat and produce to be stored and shipped. This marked the first time in history that people could have fresh meat and produce any time of the year. The milking machine was patented during this period and permitted the large-scale production of milk. The 1890s saw the cream separator come into wide use. At this point in history, a shift in the population shows many people working in factories or operating businesses. Agriculture is becoming highly mechanized. In 1892 the first gasoline tractor was built by John Froelich. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY George Washington Carver and some of his new ideas marked the turn of the twentieth century. His diversification of southern agriculture, with new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, helped spur demand for new products and technology to produce those crops. Open-geared tractors were introduced in areas of extensive farming. These machines were very large and demonstrated how machine-powered agriculture could be more productive that the animal-powered production methods. Between 1915 and 1920, tractors were gradually introduced with enclosed gears, greatly improving the life of the machines. Small prairie-type combines were introduced. A combine of this kind came with an auxiliary engine. Between the 1920s and 1940s, farm production grew as a result of mechanized power. Successful light tractors were introduced and a cotton stripper was developed. In 1928 Otto Rohwedder introduced a bread-slicing machine. The 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s were very important because of the world wars. Young men were not available to help produce food and other needed resources for the war efforts. The 1930s saw the introduction of rubber-tired tractors. The 1940s introduced Americans to frozen food. The spindle-style cotton harvester was introduced. After World War II, the second agricultural revolution occurred FIGURE 2. A modern mechanized cotton picker. (Courtesy, Deere & Company) Page 3 AgEdLibrary.com

4 as horses were replaced with tractors. Productivity per acre rose sharply due in part to the technology available in agriculture. In the 1950s, the number of tractors exceeded the number of horses and mules for the first time. Equipment started to get larger as anhydrous ammonia was increasingly used as a cheap source of nitrogen. The mechanical tomato harvester was invented but had to wait for plant breeders to develop a tomato variety suitable for mechanical harvesting to become practical. The 1960s were a time of expanding technology and larger machines. The change to all mechanical production occurred for many major crops. Machine size continued to grow as farm size grew. Chemical pesticides became generally accepted and reduced the need for mechanical control. Pesticide application required machines flexible enough to be adjusted for different rates. Modern combines gathered and threshed grain all in one operation. Plows were not used as much as in the past because of the popularity of minimum tillage. Minimum tillage reduces soil erosion by disturbing the soil surface as little as possible while subsurface tillage is occurring. Modern technology allowed producers to cultivate many more acres of land than was possible with the early machines in our history. At the end of the twentieth century, information technology and precision techniques were increasingly accepted. Farmers began using satellite technology to track and plan their agricultural practices. The use of conservation tillage methods to combat erosion continued to rise. The first biotech crops FIGURE 3. A GPS receiver on a modern combine. (Courtesy, Deere & Company) soybeans and cotton appeared, reducing the dependence on pesticides. Environmentally controlled livestock production facilities became acceptable. THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY The adoption of computers and electronic technology may be the start of the third agricultural revolution. It is exciting to think about the changes in store for agriculture and agricultural mechanics in the twenty-first century. Page 4 AgEdLibrary.com

5 Summary: Agricultural mechanics has been fundamental to the development of the agricultural industry in the United States. The use of machines and technology to replace physical and animal labor has stimulated a tremendous increase in the productivity and efficiency of the American farmer. As further advances are made in agriculture, the role of mechanics will be as prominent in the future as it was in the past, if not more so. Checking Your Knowledge: 1. What effect has the development of machines had on the efficiency of farmers? 2. Which invention allowed settlers to inhabit the Midwest and plains region of the United States? 3. Why was Eli Whitney s gin such an important invention? 4. What technology has had the greatest impact on agriculture and people? 5. What occurred during the second agricultural revolution? Expanding Your Knowledge: Write a brief report tracing an agricultural machine from its conception to the current time or to the end of its useful existence. Include the role the machine played in the development of modern agriculture. Web Links: The March of Machines Farming in the 1940s Inventors Page 5 AgEdLibrary.com