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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. Early colonists had to learn the hard way about soil stewardship. The practices associated with keeping livestock also contributed to deterioration of the land. Colonists would cut down trees, allow their cattle and livestock to graze freely in the forest areas, but never plant more trees. The animals trampled and tore …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Barns differ in size and shape, and many still stand as a testament to America’s agriculture history. One of the largest barns still in use, a museum, is the Cooper Barn in Colby, Kansas. The largest round barn once used on a working farm still stands near Red Cloud, Nebraska, near …
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 …
