Agricultural Research and Education –
Shaping the Future of the United States of America

September, 2011
Leslie (Les) Baucum, Regional Sugarcane/Agronomic Extension Agent II


Few people if any would argue that the United States of America is a world power; but there is likely much debate as to the driving forces of how our great country became a world power.  Obviously, we became recognized by other countries as a world power after our show of force during World Wars’ I & II.  But how did our country grow from the small cluster of states in the late 1700’s to the world power we are today? 

Most people do not realize that in 1790 over 90% of our total population worked directly in agriculture, on a farm, working 7 days a week to feed themselves and their families.  Fortunately our forefathers recognized that among our greatest assets was the vast array of natural resources available, specifically a lot of arable land for crop production, and they realized that in order to become more powerful we had to first become more productive.  There were many early initiatives to promote agricultural research and education within our society.  Even with these efforts, seventy years later (1860), 60% of our nation’s population was still working directly on the farm.  After much work, perhaps the most significant legislation in our country’s history culminated in 1862 with the passage of the Morrill Land Grant Act, which established Land Grant Colleges in each of our states.  These Land Grant Colleges were established with the direct intent to increase agricultural productivity through agricultural and mechanical research and education.  Since that time agricultural productivity growth in the United States has increased each year, and the percentage of our population working directly on farms has dropped at significant rates; so that today only about 2% of our total population works directly in agricultural production.


So that begs the question; how has agricultural research and education made the United States of America a world power?  Well, aside from the obvious that new inventions, innovations and discoveries from various research has directly increased our quality of life.  Have you ever stopped to think how the United States of America would have fared in World War I if 90%, or even 60% of our population would have been involved in farming, trying to feed our nation?  I think it is safe to say that we would have had a tough time trying to come up with enough able bodied men and women to both defend our world and feed our country.  I would also imagine that it is safe to say that many of the advancements from our Land Grant Colleges were instrumental in the military equipment used in World War’s I and II.  Keep in mind that big open-geared tractors were used in agricultural production before tanks were used in WWI, and advancements in aerial technology were a direct result of mechanical research and development.  Today we have many other technologies that make our lives much easier, but have we ever stopped to think; if 90% of our population were working seven days a week to feed our country, who would have had the time to make these discoveries, or to develop the technologies we rely upon?

As a country we have always had, and continue to have, a great return on our investment in agricultural research and education.  Some analysts estimate that the benefit to cost ratio for agricultural research and education is 20:1, or higher.  In spite of this, funding for agricultural research has leveled out or decreased since the early 1980’s.  This is perhaps evidenced by the reduction in agricultural productivity growth rates.

At the same time that the United States is de-emphasizing agricultural research and education by reducing federal spending on these programs, other countries are increasing their agricultural research and development spending and are increasing their countries productivity growth rates.  Some countries increasing spending in agricultural research are countries that were dependent on others for food for many years and understand the importance of being able to feed themselves.  While other countries increasing agricultural research funding, are countries that were once considered third-world countries, and are now considered to be world leaders in agricultural productivity.

By the year 2050 it is estimated that the world’s population will reach 9 billion people.  We are losing agricultural land to urban encroachment and other factors every day.  With these factors in mind we should ask ourselves; how do we expect to feed a growing population on fewer acres of agricultural land without continued improvements in agricultural production? 

Whether we are involved in agricultural production or not, as Americans we have to ask ourselves; Do we want to be dependent on other countries for our food?  If the answer is yes; then perhaps we should ask ourselves how that has worked out with oil.  If the answer is no, then perhaps it is time to ask ourselves what we, as citizens, can do to protect American agriculture.  Maybe it’s time to contact our elected representatives and remind them that we can get a greater return on investment by investing in agriculture than many of the areas we are spending our money.         


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