Role of Institutions in the Development of U.S. Agriculture

1. Role of Institutions in the Development of U.S. Agriculture ApEc 3071

2. Homestead Act of 1862 • 160 acres of government land: enlarged to 320 acres in 1909. • Three requirements: apply, improve the land, file for title. • Eventually 270 million acres were granted to 1.6 million homesteads between 1862 and 1986. • 10% of all land in the US. • Were abuses. • Opened High Plains to farming (Dust Bowl).

3. Dept. of Agriculture established in 1862. • Achieved cabinet status in 1889. • Crucial technological innovation. • Cyrus McCormick’s reaper of 1834 & John Deere’s steel plow of 1836. • Could break up the deep sod of the tall grass prairie (current Corn Belt).

4. The Morrill Act • Became law in 1862, after earlier being vetoed by Pres. Buchanan in 1859. • Purpose to establish land land-grant universities in each state. • Would focus on learning related to agriculture and the mechanic arts. • Promote practical education; Very different from classical study at elite private colleges.

5. continued • Each state received a grant of 30,000 acres of federal land for each member of Congress in 1860. • A total of 17.4 million acres nationally. • Could sell the land to raise money to establish the university. • Became the first public colleges.

6. continued • Extended to the Southern states at the end of the Civil war.

7. Hatch Act of 1887 • Gave federal land grants to the states. • To create agricultural experiment stations at the land-grant colleges. • Purpose was to conduct public agricultural research to improve farming. • Traditionally were funded by USDA.

8. Smith-Lever Act of 1914 • Established the cooperative extension service in each state. • Associated with the land-grant universities. • Purpose to spread the latest knowledge from the universities on agriculture and home economics.