Pub. 8 2018 Issue 3

10 AT THE CENTER OF UTAH INDUSTRY F arming has always been important in the U.S. Agriculture, science, and commerce were all popular interests among fashionable European aristocrats during the 1700s, and the leaders of colonial and revolutionary America, both civic and intellectual, had similar interests. • In 1785, the Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture was organized, followed by the Berkshire Agricultural Society in 1811. • Many agricultural societies and fairs took place, with government help, between 1817 and 1825. • During the 1850s, the Midwest saw the beginning of many farmers’ clubs, and in 1852 the U.S. Agricultural Society was organized. The Morrill Act of 1862, which is also known as the Land Grant College Act and which was signed into law by Abraham Lincoln, set up state institutions to educate people in practical professions that included agriculture. Based on the 1860 census, each state was given 30,000 acres of land for each senator and representative. The land was then sold and the money was placed in an endowment fund to support colleges throughout the U.S. A hundred years ago, half the U.S. population lived in rural areas and 30 percent of all workers were employed on farms. Comparatively speaking, though, farming was not that productive. Leaders in government understood that as a nation, it was important to learn how to do better when it came to agriculture. Toward that end, the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 solidified funding and educational outreach so that people could learn the practical art of growing food and receive support from county, state, and federal levels of government. The extension system created by Congress to facilitate an agricultural revolution did successfully increase the amount of food farmers could grow. As an example of the difference innovative farming techniques made, consider the effort and A FARMING PERSPECTIVE