 Economic Cycles
|
1909-18
Prosperity and war boom
1914-18
World War I |
Farm Economy
|
1910s
Farm credit is a steadily growing rural issue
1913
Federal Reserve Act passed |
Farmers & the Land
|
1910
Total population: 91,972,266;
farm population: 32,077,000 (est.); farmers 31% of labor force; Number
of farms: 6,366,000; average acres: 138
1909-20
Dryland farming boom on the Great Plains
1911-17
Immigration of agricultural workers from Mexico
1916
Stock Raising Homestead Act |
Farm Machinery & Technology
|
1910-19
Commercial fertilizer use:
6,116,700 tons/year
1910-15
Big open-geared gas tractors introduced in areas of extensive farming
1915-20
Enclosed gears developed for tractor
1918
Small prairie-type combine with auxiliary engine introduced |
Crops & Livestock
|
1910
North Dakota, Kansas, and Minnesota chief wheat States; durum wheats
become important commercial crops; 35 States and territories require
tuberculin testing of all cattle entering
1910-20
Grain production reaches into the most arid sections of the Great
Plains
1912
Marquis wheat introduced; Panama and Colombia sheep developed
1917
Kansas red wheat distributed |
Transportation
|
1910-25
Road-building accompanies increased use of automobiles
1916
Railroad network peaks at 254,000 miles; Rural
Post Roads Act begins regular Federal subsidies to road building
1917-20
Federal Government operates railroads during war emergency |
Agricultural Trade & Development
|
1910-19
Agricultural exports: $1.9
billion/year or 45% of total exports
1913
USDA's Office of Markets established to promote farm marketing |
Farm Organizations & Movements
|
1910
Farmers' Equity Union organized
1911
First Farm Bureau formed in Broome County, NY
1915
Non-Partisan League formed
1915-17
International Workers of the World ("Wobblies") organize
thousands of wheat harvest workers
1919
American Farm Bureau Federation formally organized in Chicago, Illinois |
Agricultural Education & Extension
|
1914
Smith-Lever Extension Act passed. Establishment of the federal-state
Extension Service was a major step in direct education for farmers
1917
Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act passed |
Government Programs & Policy
|
1912
Plant Quarantine Act
1914
Cotton Futures Act
1916
Federal Farm Loan Act
1917
Food Control and Production Acts |
|
