Agriculture In American Agriculture

632 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effect of agriculture

Bethany Alvarez, 2/26/14
Modern American Agriculture: It’s Effects on Crops and Farmers
Corn has always been an essential to American agriculture. Yet the corn grown by our ancestors is unlike the corn we grow today; corn has changed in its quality, quantity, usage, and its inherent compromise. The age of industrialization provided new technology and techniques for farming. Agriculture became modernized in response to increased demand in the job and food markets. However, farming is no longer a way of life but a business. It has begun to attract those more interested in gain than in those actually interested in preserving the American heritage of agriculture.
Corn originally came from Mexico. As Midwestern America grew, an influx of corn plantations also followed. Though there are numerous types of corn, yellow corn currently dominates the market. The state of Iowa is the leader in corn production and often has an over-abundance every year. Small towns in Iowa have sustained the growth of corn for generations. Often, these close knit communities dedicate much of their lives and livelihood to the agriculture industry. Some advancements in the farming method actually came from Iowa cities. “Old Reliable” was the first tractor, created in Iowa, and it closely resembles tractors used today. American agriculture would not be what it is today without the people and places of the Midwest.
Modern day farmers can plant three times as much corn as their grandfathers. Approximately two hundred bushels of corn come from one acre of land. This impressive haul is due largely to industrialized corn; corn that has been modified to create a greater yield. Impressive corn quantity is due to its tolerance against elements of the environment- inc...

... middle of paper ...

...ith the growing corn industry are forced to abandon the practice all together. This mostly occurs when farmers, or outside sources, buy up multiple acres on different lands. Then, they create a large business out of family-farming.
Corn is a part of American farming. However, American farming has been changing drastically over the past century. With new technology and greater demands, agriculture has needed to modernize itself. This requires corn to fundamentally change in its structure and purpose. Not only does this change the quality of corn or its usage, but it also affects corn’s quantity. There is a yearly over-abundance of corn yet corn still keeps getting produced. The honesty of genuine farming has been lost over the years. Farming is not a way of life anymore. It’s a business that takes away from the farmers themselves and only focuses on their product.

Show More
Related

  • When Corn Becomes A King Rhetorical Analysis

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the New York Times article “When a Crop Becomes a King”, author Michael Pollan argues there is an overproduction of corn that does more harm than it does good. He writes this in response to a farm bill signed by then President Bush to increase the budget for corn production which caused much controversy. Pollan uses an infuriated and frustrated tone in order to convince American consumers that corn has taken over their environment and economy. Michael Pollan uses rhetorical strategies to challenge conventional views of corn and to argue against additional corn production.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Technology, Government Policy, and Economic Conditions on American Agriculture During 1865-1900

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the expanding of railroads country wide, to limiting laws on the goods farmers sold and transportation of the goods,to starvation of the economy, agriculture began to take its own shape from 1865 through to 1900 in the United States.

    Read More

  • Changes in America's Agriculture From 1865-1900

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the period of 1865-1900, America’s agriculture underwent a series of changes .Changes that were a product of influential role that technology, government policy and economic conditions played. To extend on this idea, changes included the increase on exported goods, do the availability of products as well as the improved traveling system of rail roads. In the primate stages of these developing changes, farmers were able to benefit from the product, yet as time passed by, dissatisfaction grew within them. They no longer benefited from the changes (economy went bad), and therefore they no longer supported railroads. Moreover they were discontented with the approach that the government had taken towards the situation.

    Read More

  • Alabama Agriculture: Growing for You and Me

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    Agriculture has been practiced in what is now Alabama for centuries. Alabama agriculture has changed considerably since the mid-1860s, when cotton was king and Alabama was known as "The Cotton State." One hundred years ago almost four million acres were planted to cotton, and today only 1.3 million acres are devoted to all agricultural crops” (Mitchell, 2007). Agriculture in Alabama is mainly cotton and peanuts in the past they grew cattle corn and cotton. The Native Americans started Alabama off with slash-and-burn agriculture, in which they cut and burned forests to make room for their fields of corn, beans, and squash.

    Read More

  • The Roaring Twenties in Colorado

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Roaring Twenties approached and the citizens in Colorado were facing rough times. In 1920, many people such as farm owners, manufacturers, and even miners were having a hard time making a living due to an economic downfall. The farmers especially, where facing the toughest of times. The price of various farm-grown goods like wheat, sugar beets, and even cattle was dropping because their goods were no longer needed by the public. Wheat had dropped in price from $2.02 in 1918 to $0.76 by the time 1921 came around. Sadly, the land that they were using to grow wheat became dry and many farmers had to learn to grow through “dryland farming” which became very popular in the eastern plains from 1910 to 1930 (Hard Times: 1920 - 1940). Apple trees began to die due to the lack of desire for apples, poor land, and decreased prices. Over the course of World War I, the prices of farm goods began to increase slowly. Farmers were not the only one facing this economic hardship while others in big cities were enjoying the Roaring Twenties.

    Read More

  • King Corn by Aaron Woolf

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    Selling corn in massive quantity can lead to a greater profit. An ear of corn may averages about eight-hundred kernels in sixteen rows and a pound of corn consists of approximately 1,300 kernels. One-hundred bushels of corn makes approximately 7,280,000 kernels. Every year, a single U.S. Farmer may provides food and fiber for 129 people in the U.S. and 32 overseas. In the U.S., corn production is 2 times that of any other crop. Over 55% of Iowa’s corn goes to foreign markets and the rest is used in other parts of the United States of America.

    Read More

  • Iowa- An American Portrait

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    Corn soon became the crop of choice to Iowa farmers. They found that it was more resistant to disease than the other crops they were growing, such as barley, oats, wheat, and apples. With this newfound “wonder crop”, Iowans found that farming had become the ideal way of life. Working on the farm involved all of the members of the family, which brought them together and made them stronger through hardships and great opportunities.

    Read More

  • Living on Corn in the US

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nergy from an acre of Iowa farmland. Unfortunately, for more than fifty years, farm policies is designed to encourage the overproduction of this crop and hardly any other. It simply because the government subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country. While the surgeon general is warning the epidemic of obesity, our government is still signing bills encouraging the river of cheap corn flowing. It is clearly shown that food production in America is partly a mixture of politic, economic and morality.

    Read More

  • Key Factors Of The Dust Bowl

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    The country at the time was in the deepest and soon to be longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world and this caused years of over-cultivation of wheat, because “during the laissez-faire, expansionist 1920’s the plains were extensively and put to wheat - turned into highly mechanized factory farms that produced highly unprecedented harvests” (Worster 12). The farmer’s actions were prompted by the economic decline America was facing. With the economy in a recession, farmers were looking for a way to make a living and in 1930 wheat crops were becoming very popular. In 1931 the wheat crop was considered a bumper crop with over twelve million bushels of wheat. Wheat was emerging all over the plains.

    Read More

  • Corn: Its Vital Role in the World

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, corn has come a long way since its first domestication. It began as a prized possession to the Natives as they worshipped corn goddesses and had steady rituals allowing them to receive the corn and give thanks for the corn. The views for the United States seem to be produce as much as possible – and profit from it. China and Hungary aim to produce corn as well but limit themselves to unmodified corn. Although all the groups previously mentioned have/had their own way of viewing corn, one thing is for certain: corn is a popular plant and is presently essential to our lives.

    Read More

  • The Future Farmers of America

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    As you walk to the other end of the stage and look out into the sea of blue and gold corduroy, you realize this it! This is the moment you’ve worked toward for the last four years. You’ve stayed long hours after school working on you record book, spent grueling hours memorizing speeches, experienced the joy of winning first place at a state CDE contest, and best of all you met so many amazing people and doors were opened to opportunities you never imagined. Finally, after all of your hard work, you’re receiving your State FFA Degree! All of this from making one simple decision your freshman year of high school, signing up for the FFA. What you didn’t realize at the time was that this wonderful organization would help you build leadership skills and teach life skills that you are going to need in the coming years.

    Read More

  • Essay On Farming In The 1920's

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 1920’s were the singularly most influential years of farming in our country. The loss of farms following the war, and new agricultural practices resulted in the dawn of modern agriculture in our country. The shift from small family to big corporation during this time is now the basis for how our society deals with food today. Traditional farming in the 1920’s underwent a series of massive transitions following WWI as the number of farms decreased and the size of farms increased.

    Read More

  • Should Corn Ethanol Be Used For Fuel?

    2514 Words  | 6 Pages

    Given the amount of resources that the world as a whole has access to why use corn as a source of fuel? Some would say that countries, such as the United States have an overabundance of food produce. Logically, those countries that have an over surplus of food MUST have enough to put a dent into the rapidly increasing costs of oil and gasoline. Unfortunately, that is a misconception. In order to produce enough corn to fuel the global economy it is important to analyze what that actually means for farmers and the government, not to mention the actual food supply. In order to produce corn ethanol, we must first grow an abundance of corn. Simple right? Wrong, corn is very draining on the soil it is grown, which, in short, means that whomever is growing the corn would have to rotate the corn plantation with something that will restore the nutrients of the soil. Unfortunately, that takes both time and money to do. The task would cal...

    Read More

  • Americans and Agriculture

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Agriculture is not all work and no play. Many advances can be made in the understanding of agriculture by making available a variety of methods to provide children with a hands-on experience and also educating all individuals about the importance of the practice. The ignorance of urban communities can be overcome with the help of organizations and people within the community. School visits, hands-on experiences, volunteers and organizations are just a few examples of the steps that can be taken to educate Americans about agriculture and close the gap between rural and urban populations.

    Read More

  • The History of Agriculture

    1781 Words  | 4 Pages

    Agriculture is quite possibly the most important advancement and discovery that humanity has made. It produces the one thing that we need the most: food. It has been around since 9500 BC, and can be the oldest sign of mankind’s acumen and the development and evolving of our minds and creations. Agriculture has been mastered throughout hundreds of years and is one of our most important resources on Earth, along with water and fossil fuels. Although the older farming methods from ancient times seem somewhat mediocre and barbaric, they were very ingenious and advanced for that time period. Over thousands of years, we have improved the way agriculture is used, how land is cultivated, the various techniques of farming and irrigation, and the tools and mechanics used. Numerous things that we see as aboriginal today, such as using a hand plow, were extremely contemporary in ancient times, and played key roles in the development of man and society, since quick labor was not abundant before this time. We are now extremely advanced in agriculture and irrigation and the tools used to farm and grow and harvest crops. We have learned from our past and ancestors how to grow and evolve in our methods and have advanced forward greatly.

    Read More

More about Agriculture In American Agriculture

Open Document