The evolution of farming: From cotton gins to drones
1793
1797
1834
1837
1840s
1842
1843
1850
1858
1888
New Englander
Eli Whitney, while
working on a
cotton plantation in
Georgia, invents the
cotton gin. His gin
(short for engine)
contributes to the
success of cotton
as a Southern cash
crop.
Blacksmith Charles Newbold of New Jersey
patents the first cast-iron plow.
Cyrus McCormick
invents a
mechanical
reaper that can
be pulled by
horses to cut
grain; John Lane
manufactures
plows faced with
steel saw blades.
John Deere
and Leonard
Andrus begin
manufacturing steel
plows; practical
threshing machine
patented.
Factory-made
machinery encourages
commercial farming.
First grain
elevator is built in
Buffalo, N.Y.
John Bennet
Lawes founds
the commercial
fertilizer industry
by developing
a process
for making
superphosphate
at his
experimental
farm in England.
75-90 labor hours required
to produce 100 bushels of
corn on 2½ acres.
Mason
jars, used
for home
canning,
invented.
The first longhaul shipment
of a refrigerated
freight car made
from California to
New York.
The Newbold plow
1854
Self-governing
windmill perfected.
Eli Whitney
The first American
canning factory
opens in New York
City, which opens
new markets for
farmers.
Glidden barbed wire patented;
fencing of rangeland ends era of
unrestricted, open-range grazing.
John Deere
Cyrus McCormick
1918
1921
1926
1928
1932
1935
1954
1968
John Deere
buys Froelich’s
Waterloo tractor
company and
gas-powered
tractors
revolutionize
farming.
1994
First major aerial dusting of
crops conducted.
Cottonstripper
developed
for High
Plains;
successful
light tractors
developed.
Otto Rohwedder of
Missouri introduces his
bread-slicing machine
for commercial use.
First baler attached
to a tractor is
developed to
pick up cut hay
in a field. The
machine shapes
bales and ties
them with twine.
Self-propelled hay
balers follow.
President Franklin
Roosevelt
creates Rural
Electrification
Administration
to extend electric
power to farms
across the
country. Lives
of farm families
improve and
consequently
crop and
livestock
production
increases. Within
six years REA
aids formation of
800 rural electric
cooperatives with
350,000 miles of
power lines.
Number of tractors on
farms exceeds number
of horses and mules
for the first time.
96 percent of
cotton harvested
mechanically.
Farmers begin using
satellite technology
to track and plan
with GPS devices.
Information on water,
fertilizer and pesticide
use is stored on farm
computers along with
yield records, soil
analyses and weather
forecasts.
1890
1874
1812
1892
John Froelich of
Iowa puts onecylinder gasoline
engine on a
previously steamdriven thresher.
35-40 labor hours
required to produce
100 bushels of corn
on 2½ acres.
1922
John Froelich
At right, an early
Froelich tractor
The first grain elevator
John Bennet
Lawes
Self-governing
windmill
Glidden-style barbed wire
Otto Rohwedder
International
Harvester
introduces a
device that allows
power from a
1930
tractor engine to
be transmitted
15-20 labor hours
to attached
required to produce
harvesting
100 bushels of corn
equipment.
on 2 ½ acres.
Patent diagram
for an early baler
1975
3-4 labor hours
required to produce
100 bushels of corn
on 1 1/8 acres.
2014
Combines can
harvest 16 rows,
planters put in 48
rows of seed at
a time. Cameras
and sensors allow
detailed scrutiny
of fields, enough
to distinguish
Crop-surveying drone weeds from crops.
The future
1966
Electronic monitoring
devices for farmers
introduced to control
number and spacing
of seeds planted.
Modern farming satellite technology
Precision agriculture: Equipment operates
autonomously; drones fly over fields
with sensors that analyze every aspect of
planting, including soil quality, temperature
of plants/soil, insects, disease, more;
massive equipment replaced with multiple
small robotic machines that stream
continuous data about every inch of fields.
Design by Joe Stafford