michael kelly

Michael Kelly: The Forgotten Pioneer of Barbed Wire

Dan American Agriculture History Minute, Cattle, Livestock, This Land of Ours

How Early Fencing Challenges Sparked Innovation in American Livestock History In today’s American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold highlights a lesser-known but significant figure in agricultural innovation: Michael Kelly, a name not often heard, but one that deserves a place in history. As pioneers moved west and livestock numbers grew, one major problem emerged—there were no fences. Animals often wandered …

agriculture

How Native Crops and European Grains Shaped U.S. Agriculture

Dan American Agriculture History Minute, Corn, Cotton, Field Crops, Peanuts, Soybeans, This Land of Ours, Wheat

The Crop Exchange That Built American Farming In this edition of the American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold revisits a pivotal moment in agricultural development—when cultures collided and crops crossed continents to shape what we now know as American agriculture. As settlers expanded westward, Native Americans played a crucial role in introducing farm families to vital crops like sweet potatoes, …

agriculture

America’s First State Fair and Its Agriculture Roots

Dan American Agriculture History Minute, This Land of Ours

How Farm Family Rivalry Sparked a National Agricultural Tradition In this edition of the American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold explores the spirited origins of an enduring tradition in U.S. agriculture: the State Fair. It didn’t take long for early American farm families to transform agricultural pride into friendly competition—leading to the birth of the State Fair. New York claims …

Cotton Gin

Cotton, Cotton Gin, Helped Shape American Ag Economy

Dan Agri-Business, American Agriculture History Minute, Cotton, Economy, This Land of Ours

From Columbus to the Cotton Gin: The Crop That Changed a Nation In this edition of the American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold shares a pivotal chapter in American farming—how cotton became one of the nation’s most transformative crops. When Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492, he discovered cotton growing wild. It wasn’t long before the crop …

Massey-Ferguson

Massey-Ferguson: A Legacy in Agriculture

Dan Agri-Business, American Agriculture History Minute, This Land of Ours

In the ever-evolving world of agriculture, few names carry the weight of tradition and innovation like Massey-Ferguson. But how did this iconic brand come to be? It all began in 1891, when Hart Massey and Allison Harris merged their companies to form Massey-Harris Limited. Their early innovations included threshing machines and, interestingly, safety bicycles—a surprising reflection of the company’s versatility …

tractors

Before Tractors: The Thresher That Changed Farming

Dan American Agriculture History Minute, Field Crops, This Land of Ours, Wheat

Long before tractors revolutionized American agriculture in the 1930s, a different machine was already transforming the harvest: the threshing machine. In 1847, Daniel Massey launched the Newcastle Foundry in Ontario, Canada, producing some of the world’s first mechanical threshers. These devices separated grain from stalks—an essential but once backbreaking task. Above: A vintage threshing machine at work during a historical …

windmill

Windmill; a Lasting Legacy in American Agriculture

Dan Agri-Business, American Agriculture History Minute, Irrigation, This Land of Ours, Water

Ag History Minute: From Ancient Innovation to American Farms In this edition of the American Agriculture History Minute, we take a closer look at one of the most enduring tools in rural landscapes: the windmill. This historical moment honors the windmill’s essential role in farming history. Modern windmills, as we recognize them today, trace their origins back to the 8th …

trails

Agricultural Trails Shaped the West

Dan Agri-Business, American Agriculture History Minute, This Land of Ours

American Ag History Minute: Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails In this edition of the American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold takes us back to a pivotal time in westward expansion when early settlers pushed beyond Kansas City into the great unknown. Once they reached the city of Independence, Missouri, three major trails offered different paths into the West—each playing …

corn planting

From Cross-Check Rows to Modern Planting: Corn Planting

Dan Agri-Business, American Agriculture History Minute, Corn, Field Crops, This Land of Ours

Evolution of Corn Planting in the U.S. In this edition of American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold takes us back to the late 1700s and early 1800s, a period when corn planting was a labor-intensive, hands-on process. Early American farmers used a method known as cross-check planting, where hills of corn were planted in evenly spaced rows running north-south and …

Birth of the Rotary Corn Planter: A Milestone in Agricultural Innovation

Dan American Agriculture History Minute, Corn, Field Crops, This Land of Ours

American Agriculture History Minute: Deere and Mansour’s Breakthrough in the 1800s In the mid-1800s, the American agricultural industry faced a critical need: a more accurate corn planting solution. Rising to meet this challenge, Charles Deere—son of the legendary John Deere—and Alva Mansour, a family business partner, joined forces to form the Deere and Mansour Company. Operating out of a modest …