1958-70 Extended business expansion 1964-73 Vietnam War 1966 Federal minimum wage extended to some farm workers 1960 Total population: 180,007,000; farm population: 15,635,000; farmers 8.3% of labor force; Number of farms: 3,711,000; average acres: 303; irrigated acres: 33,829,000 1960s State legislation to keep land in farming increases 1964 Wilderness Act 1960-69 Commercial fertilizer use: 32,373,713 tons/year 1960 One farmer supplies 25.8 persons (est.) 1965 5 labor-hours required to produce 100 pounds (1/5 acre) of lint cotton with tractor, 2-row stalk cutter, 14-foot disk, 4-row bedder, planter, cultivator, and 2-row harvester 5 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 12- foot plow, 14-foot drill, 14-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks; 99% of sugar beets harvested mechanically; Federal loans and grants for water/sewer systems 1968 96% of cotton harvested mechanically 1960s Soybean acreage expands as an alternative to other crops 1960 96% of corn acreage planted with hybrid seed 1961 Gaines wheat distributed 1966 Fortuna wheat distributed 1960s Financial condition of northeastern railroads deteriorates; rail abandonments accelerate; agricultural shipments by all-cargo planes increase, especially shipments of strawberries and cut flowers 1960-69 Agricultural exports: $5.76 billion/year or 22.9% of total exports 1964 Trade Expansion Act 1962 REA authorized to finance education TV in rural areas 1968 83% of all farms have phones; 98.4% have electricity 1960s United Farm Workers Organizing Committee begins unionizing California farmworkers 1960s Commodity groups move to forefront of influence with Congress 1962 Silent Spring, by U.S. biologist Rachel Carson, warns of dangers to wildlife from indiscriminate use of persistent pesticides, such as DDT. The book becomes a best-seller 1966 Fair Labor Standards Act extended to include agricultural labor; Federal minimum wage extended to some farmworkers 1964 Antipoverty programs lead to expansion of extension education programs in inner cities 1960s The Government uses food surpluses for the needy at home and abroad; State legislation to keep land in farming gains impetus 1961, 1962 Agricultural Acts extend and enlarge earlier programs 1964 Food Stamp Act; Agricultural Act provides voluntary control program for cotton and wheat 1965 Appalachian Regional Development Act; Food and Agriculture Act establishes voluntary 4-year price and adjustment program 1966 President's Committee on Rural Poverty appointed; Child Nutrition Act 1967 Wholesome Meat Act 1968 Wholesome Poultry "Products Act"; special food service program for children 1969, 1971 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health   Next Decade >>
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