The Development of Mechanical
Technology in Agriculture
H
ISTORICALLY, 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:
þ
Discuss the development of technology
related to agricultural mechanics.
(Courtesy, Agricultural Research Service, USDA)
Key Term:
Ñ
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.
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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
FIGURE 1. This modern plow is a successor to John
the self-governing windmill, the two-horse strad- Deere’s key invention that helped revolutionize
agriculture. (Courtesy, Deere & Company)
dle-row cultivator, and mason jars used for home
canning.
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 bindE-unit: The Development of Mechanical Technology in Agriculture
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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)
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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
FIGURE 3. A GPS receiver on a modern combine. (Courtesy, Deere &
Company)
practices. The use of conservation tillage methods to combat erosion continued to rise. The first biotech crops—
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.
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Summary:
2
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:
L
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
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/machines_01.html
Farming in the 1940s
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/farminginthe1940s.html
Inventors
http://inventors.about.com/inventors/blfarm.htm
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