Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “American Agriculture History Minute”
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Growing corn was one thing in American agriculture history, but harvesting it, certainly another. Imagine doing the job by hand. No combines, no tractors, just a man, a horse, and a wagon. Beginning in the 19 twenties, labor saving machinery was available for corn harvest. But even into the 19 forties, …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Barns were and are a centerpiece of family farms as settlers continued across the heartland. One of the largest barns in the US still stands in western Kansas, the Cooper Barn in Colby, Kansas, now a museum. The barn spans an enormous 114 feet long, 66 feet wide, and stands over …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. President Thomas Jefferson believed in the future of agriculture. In fact, he believed it to be the cornerstone to the success of the country’s new independence. It said Jefferson gave Meriwether Lewis specific instructions in the summer of 1803 before he and William Clark set out on their 1804 expedition. His …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Any modern traveler now retracing the steps of Merriweather Lewis and William Clark after they left the Missouri River and proceeded west would likely wonder how areas of the Dakotas, Montana and Idaho could ever be agriculturally productive. After all, President Thomas Jefferson gave specific instructions to the two that he …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. A small chemical manufacturing company opened its doors in 1957 in West Helena, Arkansas near the Mississippi River south of Memphis. Today the company is headquartered just outside Memphis and known as Helena Agri Enterprises and is one of the largest contract chemical manufacturers in the country, providing formulations and packaging …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. There were a lot of agricultural discoveries in the travels of Lewis and Clark, not just discovering new lands. Historians note that as the expedition journeyed up the Missouri River in search of the Northwest Passage, members of the expedition took careful notes on agricultural practices they encountered. Native American Indians …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. We begin today with a question. What state is referred to as the grass seed capital of the world? That would be Oregon. Oregon leads the nation in hazelnut and grass seed production. Its agriculture is quite diverse from even other states along the west coast. Oregon is consistently a top …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Corn has always been an important part of American agriculture history, but shelling it – usually by hand – was a difficult one for families, and the process normally was a community affair, family and friends gathering together for a shelling bee. Mechanical corn shellers were introduced in the 1800s as …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Significant areas of farmland were abandoned during the Great Depression and incorporated into national forests. And that began more land stewardship with farmers and ranchers, and, reversed a decades-long trend of destruction of land that really can be traced to 1942. When farmers and ranchers were encouraged to plant all possible …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Corn of course holds a major part of American agriculture history, but very early on corn was typically shelled by hand and used for things like fuel for heating, fertilizer, of course cattle feeding, and bedding. The process of shelling corn, though, was a community affair. Family and friends gathered at …
