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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “This Land of Ours”
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university under the Morrill Agricultural and Mechanical College. Initially it was thought one of Ohio’s two existing universities, Ohio University and Miami University, would be designated as the land-grant institution, and each in fact engaged in a vigorous competition to win …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. As early settlers pushed across the Appalachians, many assumed that they continued on westward through the plains and on to California and Oregon. But many found a home in what is now Ohio. By the time European settlers established a presence in Ohio, American Indian tribes were already growing corn, soybeans, …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. In 1856, the Iowa General Assembly enacted legislation to establish the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm. This institution is now Iowa State University and officially established March 1858. Story County and Ames was chosen as the location in June 1859. The original farm consisted of 648 acres and purchased for …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. In the 1860s, when many men marched off to the Civil War, many farms were left to the care of women, children, and older farmers. New machinery made it possible for them to produce food to support their families and support the armies. Women kept up their usual washing, cooking, and …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Most land-grant universities we’re familiar with, like Iowa State or Kansas State University and others, were established very soon after the Morrill Act of 1862. But land-grant universities and colleges continue to be added as late as 1994. Many serving Native Americans, such as Haskell Indian Nation University in Lawrence, Kansas, …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. In 1946, Robert Doherty was looking for a good business opportunity, and he recognized the potential of a small manufacturing company on a farm just west of Valley, Nebraska. After careful consideration, he invested $5 ,000, nearly his entire savings, in Valley Manufacturing and began working farm elevators. A year later, …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Roswell Garst and Charlie Thomas founded the Garst and Thomas Hybrid Corn Company in Coon Rapids, Iowa in 1931. The company was instrumental in promoting the use of hybrid corn at the time, and they gained international fame and attention during the Cold War, when Roswell Garst hosted Russian premier Nikita …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Eugene Funk was the grandson of Isaac Funk, one of McLean County, Illinois’ earliest settlers and arguably the best livestock producer in the area at the time. The Funk’s success in livestock led them to consider how they might achieve similar advances in corn. Eugene studied science for three years at …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. When early settlers arrived in what is now the state of Colorado, they found Native Americans growing what is called the three sisters, corn, soybeans, and squash. The Arkansas River marked the boundary between Mexican and U. S. territories at the time, and Spanish-speaking immigrants settled along the southern routes and …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Brothers Charles and Newton Butler founded Butler Manufacturing Company in Kansas City, 1901. The two worked together on building an improved livestock watering tank. And, during the early 1900s, the men designed and built several agricultural products, particularly grain storage bins. The company enjoyed success selling the merchandise and by 1908, …
