Synthesis

Abstract

The history of American agriculture is one of continuing growth and constant change. During the first three hundred years, beginning with the settlement at Jamestown in 1607, growth and development in U.S. agriculture was achieved by doing more with more, at the extensive margin. As the frontier expanded and more land was brought into production by more people, the number of farms and farmers grew. Over time, these farms became more productive through the development and adoption of a host of biological and mechanical innovations, mainly developed without much government involvement. Some of the earlier innovations are visibly evident today—such as barbed wire and steel plows. But many of the crop variety innovations were to counter co-evolving pest and disease pressures or to adapt varieties to new environments, and their impacts are not revealed in aggregate yields that grew very slowly before 1935.