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Elaine Rhoades

Professor Hughes

ENG 1201

23-3-2022

Agriculture Essay

About 9 years ago I was introduced to agriculture through 4-H. At that moment I did not

know much about the agricultural field and the effects it has on our community. Once I started

Junior Fair Board a year ago, and FFA this year I have become intrigued with agriculture and all

the events behind it. It is important that we understand what agriculture really is because I

thought I knew what it was but the longer I sit in agriculture class the more I am learning. There

is a lot more to agriculture than just farming, showing animals, or growing corn. Agriculture has

significantly progressed in equipment, continuous growth in food production, and has increased

the United States population of farmers. Without these advancements, our world would not be

able to progress to where we are today. On the other hand, an increase in equipment can cause

excess pollution of the environment, soil and land degradation, and habitat destruction.

To begin, agriculture is used in our everyday lives whether we know it or not. It is used to

produce many if not all the items you own and use. Unbelievably the clothes you wear also come

from an agricultural background. The cotton seed that was used to make that shirt went through

various stages of the farming process.

In addition, the development of farm equipment has evolved over the years. It allows

farmers to grow food for their families, local farmer's markets, local grocery stores, and large
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corporate food industries. The development of farm equipment has allowed the farmer to feed

the ever-growing population across the world, in a more efficient way for our ever-growing

population.

In the beginning, farming was done by hand. Farmers used hoes, rakes, and handheld

plows. In 1500 BC plows were pulled by oxen to prepare the ground. The Native American

Indians who were the first farmers in America. Developed their own tools to grow food. They

used hoes made of sticks and rocks, handheld plows, and shovels made from gourds. They did

not have the use of plows pulled by animals until they were introduced by the colonist. The

American Indians taught the colonist how to grow the three main crops of corn, beans, and

squash with these tools. Unfortunately, irrigation of crops will not be developed for many years.

This led to water having to be carried or hauled to the crops. (“The Atlantic”)

As a result, the first piece of equipment developed in farming was in 475 BC from the

Chinese who developed a hammered-out iron plow. The iron was more durable than the wooden

plows. It also worked the ground further down and spread the soil in two directions. Then in the

1700’s the biggest agricultural development came from Eli Whitney. The cotton gin separated

the seeds and other particles from the cotton. This allowed the process of picking and cleaning of

the cotton to be more productive.

In the 18th century, farmers relied on oxen and horses to power crude wooden plows.

Which was used to plow their farms. The 1800’s brought the development of many new farm

inventions. It also brought the replacement of workers for a machine. One of the biggest

developments was from Cyrus Hall McCormick in 1834 with the development of the mechanical

reaper. The next big invention of the 1800’s was in 1837 with John Deere. John Deere developed

the steel plow. There would be many more such as corn planters, grain drills, manure spreaders,
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and many other inventions during the 1800’s that would assist the farmer in being more

productive in crop growth. (“The Atlantic”)

This shows an oxen pulling a plow which was one of the first ways of farming.
(“The 20 Most Significant Inventions in the History of Food and Drink”)

From the 18th century to the 20th century or even today there have been many major

advancements in agriculture equipment and tools. Today farmers have tractors that they can run

to get the fields plowed faster. Most tractors of this era are air-conditioned or heated, some of the

tractors can even run by themselves and the farmer just must sit inside the tractor. These

advancements have saved farmers a ton of time because the tractors can run faster than the horse

or mule that they used to use.

The 1900’s was the biggest growth period for equipment in agriculture. With the growth

of the population the demand for food increased. The first of several models for a gas-powered

tractor allowed farmers to work the land quicker and plant more seeds. Also came the hay baller,

sprayer, and grain cart. In 1954 the Valmont Industries developed the first irrigation system. The
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irrigation system played a significant role in the areas where rainfall is limited during the

growing season. (“The Atlantic”)

The 21st century is off to a great start of agricultural development in farm equipment. In

2001 no-till farming is developed. No-till farming is a process that saves the farmer time from

having to till the land each season. They can just begin planting when the time is right. It also

decreases the soil from eroding. 2008 also brings the use of and development of a Global

Positioning System or GPS. This allows farmers to track their location for planting while in the

field as well as programing area irrigation times.

Therefore, Farm equipment has helped a lot of farm operations become more efficient

and effective. Tractors can do more than just harvest the crops. In this era tractors also have crop

yield monitors and GPS field navigation. Both tools are immensely helpful because they give the

farmer an idea of when the crop will be ready to harvest. The GPS is also remarkably effective

because it gives farmers an idea of where they are in the field and how much longer it will take

them. Also, tractors have helped by allowing farmers to keep track of soil quality across every

single inch of their farmland. This is a valuable tool because this gives a farmer an idea of how

long it will take the crop to grow and the pH of the soil and if they need to increase or decrease

it. These few innovations in the agricultural industry have majorly changed the outlook of what

is to come for equipment in agriculture. (“The Atlantic”)

Over the years, there have also been many breakthroughs in communications, genetics,

and chemistry. Thanks to these breakthroughs we have been able to grow our food faster with

less energy and less environmental impact. This is exceptionally amazing because this means

less pollution of the environment and less energy that is being wasted. While this may seem

good, this makes many people wonder if technology has made our food different over the last
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couple of years with these investments. Based on information from the USDA, United States

farmers have had a complicated economic climate of the past years for farming to be profitable.

For America to remain the world leader in crop production, the USDA conducts agricultural

research to maintain the best way possible to produce crops. The USDA has also partnered with

many other organizations to keep the American industry in agriculture the best it can be. More

than 1 billion pounds of food are consumed daily by the population just in America, which does

not even include other countries where farmers in the United States must produce food. This

information from the USDA has helped reassure many people about the products in their food

and what they are really eating. (“United States Department of Agriculture”)

This chart shows the decrease in prices for corn, wheat, and soybeans. Chart from the United
States Department of Agriculture.

While most of this information is about the United States, Ohio is also particularly

important because we are ranked 18th in crop and livestock production out of all 50 states in the
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United States. The Ohio Department of Agriculture also plays a significant role in local food

production. When we began to think about how much America feeds in total, Ohio is not that far

behind America as a whole. In 2020 the agriculture market in Ohio was at 8.3 billion dollars

(about $26 per person in the US), the crop market exceeded 4.9 billion dollars (about $15 per

person in the US), and animal products exceeded 3.4 billion dollars (about $10 per person in the

US). This is a lot of food for Ohio farmers to produce when you take into consideration that we

are only ranked 18th in crop and livestock production. California which is ranked number 1 in

the United States produces nearly 50,000,000 in cash from agriculture-related items every year.

Adding up to 11% of the food produced and consumed in America. That is an immensely

different amount than the state of Ohio produces. (“Ohio Department of Agriculture”)

Over 100 years ago today, there were approximately 6.5 million farms. This is a major

decrease than what is accounted for today. Today we have around 2 million farms in the United

States. The population of farmers has decreased simply because many people do not want to

work on farms anymore. Working on a farm is simply just too much work for most people.

People need to realize that if we do not have enough farmers then we do not have enough food.

Which will cause a higher amount of poverty in the United States, and across the world. Due to

America being the leader of agriculture in the food aspect.

In addition, food production is another key development in agriculture. Pasteurization

was developed by Louis Pasteur. This process was given its name due to the last name of Louis.

The process of pasteurization allowed foods to be free from harmful bacteria for people to

consume with no worries. Refrigeration became the next key factor in food production. The

refrigerator gave the consumer the chance to preserve the foods bought at the local grocery stores

and farmers markets. Fermentation was developed so that foods could have a longer shelf life
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and to be more digestible. All of these methods were produced to keep food safer for longer

periods of time. (“Williams, Greg. Interview.”)

As a result, the 19th century brought the method of canning. Consumers could now take

all the fresh food items and preserve them in containers for an extended period. The oven was

also developed which allowed food to be cooked properly for human consumption. This has also

saved many people from receiving food born illness.

While agriculture has many benefits there are also many negative effects to citizens and

the environment. While the negative Agriculture can cause an increase in equipment which leads

to excess pollution of the environment, soil and land degradation, and habitat destruction.

(“Wright, Nick. Interview.”)

An increase in agricultural equipment and the high performance of tractors influence

pollution to the environment by exhaust gases. This means that the substance coming out of the

exhaust is what harms the environment. A few major health issues caused by this are stroke,

heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory

infections. These health issues can be life-threatening and can even cause early death.

Alongside of the pollution affecting the humans, pollution can also affect animals, plants,

and even entire ecosystems. Pollution harms animals by lung failure, inflammation, and even

reduced birth production causing life long defects on offspring. Some effects pollution has on

plants are as followed a burning look on leaf tips, mottled foliage, twig dieback, stunted growth,

premature leaf drop, early drop of blossoms, and reduced yield or quality. Due to these two

defects in the ecosystem the entire environment is thrown off which can cause effects in the

ecosystem. (“Ohio Department of Agriculture”)

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Next, land and soil degradation are the loss of the productive capacity of the soils for the

present and the future. Degradation is caused by pollution, urban expansion, unsustainable

agriculture practices, and long-term climate change. Due to this, there are many continuing

effects. This includes global challenges that affect the current population through food insecurity,

higher food prices, climate change, environmental hazards, and loss of biodiversity and

ecosystem services. (“Wright, Nick. Interview.”)

These different effects can be harmful in many different ways. Food insecurity is the

study that found that adults may be at an increased risk for obesity. Another food insecurity

study found higher rates of chronic disease in low-income environments and food-insecure adults

between the ages of 18 and 65. Higher food prices can affect the amount of food that the

community will actually have enough money to consume. The poorer people will not have

enough money to consume food therefore they will not consume a lot of food which is also what

causes the poverty numbers to increase. Climate change can affect the production of food by

quality. When we grow the food, we must have the right temperature and the right climate, or

else the quality of the product will become poor. Environmental hazards related to climate

change topic because the more weather defects in the food the less likely it is going to be to sell.

People do not want food that the molded or wrinkly. A loss of biodiversity and ecosystem

services can pose threats to human health. This means that the more the ecosystems have defects

or harmful issues the more likely it is going to be for humans to have a reaction or even a defect

from the environment too. It is important to maintain these issues so that the situations do not

because worse or even more harmful to the environment.

Finally, agriculture practices can often lead to habitat destruction. Habitat destruction is

the main cause of threatening species. Many of the habitats that were made for animals continue
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to disappear because they are now produced for human consumption and cleared to make way

for fields for farming, housing, roads, pipelines, and the other areas for industrial development.

All of these areas are majorly impacting the homes and lives of many species.

Based on this, fields clear out all habitats for farming. While this affects the area the

animals live in it is for the better because the field that is being put into this area is one day going

to be the food that the community in this area will be eating off of. Sometimes the area that is

cleaned out is for housing, this allows people an area to strive and survive. This is good for

humans to live but bad because animals are dying. The areas are sometimes even cleared out for

roadways. It is important that we make roadways so that people can travel and so the animals can

move to various locations. Pipelines are important because we need to transport a variety of

products such as sewage waste and water. Although the most common products transported are

for energy purposes, which include natural gas, biofuels, and liquid petroleum. While all of these

products have positive effects on humans, they have many negative effects on animals since they

take the homes and habitats of many animals.

In conclusion, the few negative effects that are put into agriculture are outweighed

immensely by the positives. The agriculture industry is a large part of what sustains the United

States and the growing population. The industry is supported by farmers, food manufacturers,

and of course the large variety of restaurants that the American population supports. Agriculture

has come a long way from the production of equipment to the methods of food preservation. It is

important for the public to remember what you serve on your table for dinner or if you decide to

go out to dinner it is all provided by your local farmer. It is important for society to thank them

for their time and work in providing the food that we consume to live healthy lives.
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Works Cited

“Early Maize Agriculture and Interzonal Interaction in Southern Peru.” Shibboleth

Authentication Request, https://web-p-ebscohost-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=13&sid=e0a80d7b-2b4d-4ec9-

b800+e3db139cae2c%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3D%3D#AN=5066

60835&db=bai.

Evenson, Robert Eugene, and Prabhu L. Pingali. Handbook of Agricultural Economics: Vol. 3:

Agricultural Development: Farmers, Farm Production and Farm Markets. Elsevier, North

Holland, 2007.

“Farm Subsidy Plan 'Risks Increasing the UK's Reliance on Food Imports'.” The Guardian,

Guardian News and Media, 9 Jan. 2022,

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/09/farm-subsidy-plan-risks-

increasing-the-uks-reliance-on-food-imports.

“From Green to Gold: Agricultural Revolution for Food Security. U.S.” Shibboleth

Authentication Request, https://web-p-ebscohost-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=6&sid=e0a80d7b-2b4d-4ec9-b800-

e3db139cae2c%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3D%3D#db=bai&AN=14

2615738.

Garber, Megan. “The 20 Most Significant Inventions in the History of Food and Drink.” The

Atlantic, September 14, 2012,

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https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/the-20-most-significant-

inventions-in-the-history-of-food-and-drink/262410/.

iStock Photo, Credit: “Trade Agreements.” American Farm Bureau Federation - The Voice of

Agriculture, https://www.fb.org/issues/trade/trade-agreements/.

License to Farm - Official Documentary - YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJnAV_quG6Y.

Ohio Department of Agriculture, 24 Jan. 2022, https://agri.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/oda/home/.

“USDA.” USDA, https://www.usda.gov/.

Williams, Greg. Interview. By Elaine Rhoades. March 3, 2022.

Wright, Nick. Interview. By Elaine Rhoades. March 1, 2022.