What have been major characteristics of american farming in 20th century?

Question

What have been major characteristics of american farming in 20th century?

Answer 1

Rural America is home to a fifth of the Nation's people, keeper of natural amenities and national treasures, and safeguard of a unique part of American culture, tradition, and history. Today, rural America comprises over 2,000 counties, contains 75 percent of the Nation's land, and includes 49 million people. ERS research explores how investments in rural people, businesses, and communities affect the capacity of rural economies to prosper in the new and changing global marketplace. Equally important is our commitment to enhancing the quality of life for the Nation's small farmers who are increasingly dependent on these rural economies for their employment and economic support.

Answer 2

Depends on what aspect you are looking at. Surely the dust bowl in the '30s would be a major event, as would the impact of globalization and the the advancements of new pesticides. What exactly are you looking for?

Answer 3

Probably the move away from small diversified farms (grow both plants and animals) to large mono cropped farms (grow either plants or animals)

Farms got mechanized in the 20th century. They also started using synthetic fertilizers after WWII (the high nitrogen ferts being a leftover of war/bombs)

Earl Butz USDA Secy in the mid 1960's told farmers to either get big or get out. This meant that the USA lost around 90% of it's farms in the 20th century

Answer 4

over the whole century, it was 3 phases:

1.  human labor/animal power - horses and doing things by hand, from 1900-1920's

2.  mechanization - using tractors and machinery to replace the horse, plus having electricity in rural areas - which started after the Great Depression and WWII were over, 1945-1980

3.  Technology - which started in the 1990's with the advent of GPS mapping, precision farming, etc  (after the effects of the early-80's farm crisis had stopped)