Industrializing the Corn Belt: Agriculture, Technology, and Environment, 1945-1972
Autor J. L. Andersonen Limba Engleză Paperback – 14 feb 2016
From the late 1940s to the early 1970s, farmers in the Corn Belt transformed their region into a new, industrial powerhouse of large-scale production, mechanization, specialization, and efficiency. Many farm experts and implement manufacturers had urged farmers in this direction for decades, but it was the persistent labor shortage and cost-price squeeze following WWII that prompted farmers to pave the way to industrializing agriculture. Anderson examines the changes in Iowa, a representative state of the Corn Belt, in order to explore why farmers adopted particular technologies and how, over time, they integrated new tools and techniques.
In addition to the impressive field machinery, grain storage facilities, and automated feeding systems were the less visible, but no less potent, chemical technologies—antibiotics and growth hormones administered to livestock, as well as insecticide, herbicide, and fertilizer applied to crops. Much of this new technology created unintended consequences: pesticides encouraged the proliferation of resistant strains of plants and insects while also polluting the environment and threatening wildlife, and the use of feed additives triggered concern about the health effects to consumers.
Anderson explains that the cost of equipment and chemicals made unprecedented demands on farm capital, and in order to maximize production, farmers planted more acres with fewer but more profitable crops or specialized in raising large herds of a single livestock species. The industrialization of agriculture gave rural Americans a lifestyle resembling that of their urban and suburban counterparts. Yet the rural population continued to dwindle as farms required less human labor, and many small farmers, unable or unwilling to compete, chose to sell out.
Industrializing the Corn Belt—based on farm records, cooperative extension reports, USDA publications, oral interviews, trade literature, and agricultural periodicals—offers a fresh look at an important period of revolutionary change in agriculture through the eyes of those who grew the crops, raised the livestock, implemented new technology, and ultimately made the decisions that transformed the nature of the family farm and the Midwestern landscape.
In addition to the impressive field machinery, grain storage facilities, and automated feeding systems were the less visible, but no less potent, chemical technologies—antibiotics and growth hormones administered to livestock, as well as insecticide, herbicide, and fertilizer applied to crops. Much of this new technology created unintended consequences: pesticides encouraged the proliferation of resistant strains of plants and insects while also polluting the environment and threatening wildlife, and the use of feed additives triggered concern about the health effects to consumers.
Anderson explains that the cost of equipment and chemicals made unprecedented demands on farm capital, and in order to maximize production, farmers planted more acres with fewer but more profitable crops or specialized in raising large herds of a single livestock species. The industrialization of agriculture gave rural Americans a lifestyle resembling that of their urban and suburban counterparts. Yet the rural population continued to dwindle as farms required less human labor, and many small farmers, unable or unwilling to compete, chose to sell out.
Industrializing the Corn Belt—based on farm records, cooperative extension reports, USDA publications, oral interviews, trade literature, and agricultural periodicals—offers a fresh look at an important period of revolutionary change in agriculture through the eyes of those who grew the crops, raised the livestock, implemented new technology, and ultimately made the decisions that transformed the nature of the family farm and the Midwestern landscape.
| Toate formatele și edițiile | Preț | Express |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback (1) | 130.97 lei 3-5 săpt. | |
| Northern Illinois University Press – 14 feb 2016 | 130.97 lei 3-5 săpt. | |
| Hardback (1) | 185.42 lei 3-5 săpt. | |
| Northern Illinois University Press – 12 noi 2008 | 185.42 lei 3-5 săpt. |
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9780875807416
ISBN-10: 0875807410
Pagini: 248
Ilustrații: 25
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 x 18 mm
Greutate: 0.36 kg
Ediția:1
Editura: Northern Illinois University Press
Colecția Northern Illinois University Press
ISBN-10: 0875807410
Pagini: 248
Ilustrații: 25
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 x 18 mm
Greutate: 0.36 kg
Ediția:1
Editura: Northern Illinois University Press
Colecția Northern Illinois University Press
Recenzii
“Through a carefully researched investigation of Iowa, J. L. Anderson…delivers a renegade interpretation that highlights farmers as the primary agents of agrarian change. An illuminating case, powerful analysis, and a poignant story.”—The Journal of American History
“An excellent piece of historical research. There is no other book that deals in depth and breadth with the important subjects considered here.”—Allan Bogue, University of Wisconsin“For too long, American agriculture in the post-war era has been the domain of economists and rural sociologists. With a historian’s touch—focusing first and foremost on the farmers themselves—Anderson provides a fresh, compelling treatment of this crucial period of immense social, economic, technological, and environmental change.”—David Vaught, Texas A&M University
“Anderson’s work [has] a nuance that writiers who focus on the net effect of agricultural change often miss.”—Journal of Illinois History
“[This] book is well worth reading….The impact of the revolution Anderson recounts affects all Americans.”—The Annals of Iowa
Notă biografică
J.L. Anderson teaches U.S. history at Mount Royal College, Calgary, Alberta, where he is a member of the Department of Humanities.
Cuprins
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I Chemicals
Chapter 1 Insecticide: Time for Action
Chapter 2 Herbicide versus Weedy the Thief
Chapter 3 Fertilizer Gives the Land a Kick
Chapter 4 Feeding Chemicals
Part II Machines
Chapter 5 Push-button Farming
Chapter 6 Making Hay the Modern Way
Chapter 7 From Threshing Machine to Combine
Chapter 8 From Corn Picker and Crib to Combine and Bin
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Part I Chemicals
Chapter 1 Insecticide: Time for Action
Chapter 2 Herbicide versus Weedy the Thief
Chapter 3 Fertilizer Gives the Land a Kick
Chapter 4 Feeding Chemicals
Part II Machines
Chapter 5 Push-button Farming
Chapter 6 Making Hay the Modern Way
Chapter 7 From Threshing Machine to Combine
Chapter 8 From Corn Picker and Crib to Combine and Bin
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Descriere
From the late 1940s to the early 1970s, farmers in the Corn Belt transformed their region into a new, industrial powerhouse of large-scale production, mechanization, specialization, and efficiency. Many farm experts and implement manufacturers had urged farmers in this direction for decades, but it was the persistent labor shortage and cost-price squeeze following WWII that prompted farmers to pave the way to industrializing agriculture. Anderson examines the changes in Iowa, a representative state of the Corn Belt, in order to explore why farmers adopted particular technologies and how, over time, they integrated new tools and techniques.
In addition to the impressive field machinery, grain storage facilities, and automated feeding systems were the less visible, but no less potent, chemical technologies—antibiotics and growth hormones administered to livestock, as well as insecticide, herbicide, and fertilizer applied to crops. Much of this new technology created unintended consequences: pesticides encouraged the proliferation of resistant strains of plants and insects while also polluting the environment and threatening wildlife, and the use of feed additives triggered concern about the health effects to consumers.
Anderson explains that the cost of equipment and chemicals made unprecedented demands on farm capital, and in order to maximize production, farmers planted more acres with fewer but more profitable crops or specialized in raising large herds of a single livestock species. The industrialization of agriculture gave rural Americans a lifestyle resembling that of their urban and suburban counterparts. Yet the rural population continued to dwindle as farms required less human labor, and many small farmers, unable or unwilling to compete, chose to sell out.
Industrializing the Corn Belt—based on farm records, cooperative extension reports, USDA publications, oral interviews, trade literature, and agricultural periodicals—offers a fresh look at an important period of revolutionary change in agriculture through the eyes of those who grew the crops, raised the livestock, implemented new technology, and ultimately made the decisions that transformed the nature of the family farm and the Midwestern landscape.
In addition to the impressive field machinery, grain storage facilities, and automated feeding systems were the less visible, but no less potent, chemical technologies—antibiotics and growth hormones administered to livestock, as well as insecticide, herbicide, and fertilizer applied to crops. Much of this new technology created unintended consequences: pesticides encouraged the proliferation of resistant strains of plants and insects while also polluting the environment and threatening wildlife, and the use of feed additives triggered concern about the health effects to consumers.
Anderson explains that the cost of equipment and chemicals made unprecedented demands on farm capital, and in order to maximize production, farmers planted more acres with fewer but more profitable crops or specialized in raising large herds of a single livestock species. The industrialization of agriculture gave rural Americans a lifestyle resembling that of their urban and suburban counterparts. Yet the rural population continued to dwindle as farms required less human labor, and many small farmers, unable or unwilling to compete, chose to sell out.
Industrializing the Corn Belt—based on farm records, cooperative extension reports, USDA publications, oral interviews, trade literature, and agricultural periodicals—offers a fresh look at an important period of revolutionary change in agriculture through the eyes of those who grew the crops, raised the livestock, implemented new technology, and ultimately made the decisions that transformed the nature of the family farm and the Midwestern landscape.