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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. The history of agriculture in the United States, of course, goes back to the first English settlers. In colonial America, agriculture was the primary livelihood for 90% of the population. In fact, most towns were shipping points for the export of agricultural products. Most farms were geared toward production for the …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the American victory in the War of 1812, plus the building of canals and the introduction of steamboats, new opportunities opened up in agriculture. And in times of rapid economic growth, a farmer could still improve the land he was on for far more …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. One-room schoolhouses are an important part of American agriculture history. Early settlers knew the importance of education since a large portion of the population lived in small rural communities or isolated rural areas. The local one-room school was the answer, often built by nearby farmers. In fact, most of the teachers …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. A farmland auction usually draws a good-sized crowd, but on a bitter, cold February morning in 2025, temperatures outside in central Iowa nearly zero, a group so large it was standing room only. Why? They were watching an Iowa farm change hands for the first time since 1882. Six-hundred-thirty-six (636) acres …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. One-room schoolhouses are part of American agriculture history, the Eureka Schoolhouse in Springfield, Vermont, one of the earliest recorded one-room schools built in 1785. As settlers moved west, the one-room schoolhouse model moved with them. Abraham Lincoln attended a one-room school in 1822 in rural Illinois. One-room schools were still being …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Farmland values have always been part of American agriculture history. Recent stories indicate that farmland values in some areas of the country are leveling off or even declining. But, in real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. Such was the case for this farm in October 2024, 90 acres, 20 …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. One-room schoolhouses are a part of American agriculture history. Early settlers knew the importance of education, and since a large portion of the population lived in small rural communities or isolated rural areas, local one-room schools were the answer, often built by nearby farmers. In fact, most of the teachers early …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Ethnicity certainly has made a difference in agriculture history in the United States. German Americans brought with them practices and traditions that were quite different from those of the English and Scottish farmers. They adapted old world techniques to a much more abundant land supply than they had. For example, they …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. When one thinks of inventions that change the face of American agriculture, things like the steam engine, threshing machine, the cotton gin, and moldboard plow come to mind. But high on that list, and one that many times slips by our memories, fertilizer. The actual history of fertilizer likely goes back …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Once early settlers navigated the rough Appalachian Mountains, they found vast stretches of undeveloped land in what is now central and western Tennessee. The early settlers often received land grants for military service. Standard grants came in the form of 640-acre blocks. Even today, a gift of 640 acres seems generous, …
