Planting the Seeds of Research

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Louis A. Ferleger argues why by the beginnings of the twentieth century the United States dominated agricultural production worldwide.

Image courtesy of interviewee. September 16, 2024

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The speaker has spent 40 years studying agriculture, emphasizing the significance of understanding the historical development of American agriculture, which made the U.S. the world's leading agricultural producer by 1920. He initially wrote articles on various aspects of this evolution and later compiled them into a book to advocate for recognizing the collaboration among government, businesses, farmers, and agricultural scientists that laid the groundwork for this success.

The transformation involved a critical relationship between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state experiment stations, focusing on both immediate agricultural needs and establishing long-term research infrastructures. The speaker notes the influence of the German agricultural model, which informed U.S. practices, particularly in specialization and comparative advantages based on regional strengths.

Key examples include efforts to address animal diseases and optimizing fertilizer use, highlighting the need for research with long-term implications rather than just immediate solutions. By investing in state-level research, the U.S. cultivated significant agricultural competence, allowing for adaptability to market demands.

Post-1920, the U.S. agriculture faced challenges like overproduction and the Great Depression but later stabilized through government subsidies. The lasting partnerships between government, businesses, and farmers fostered economic resilience and led to continued leadership in agricultural exports today, with U.S. food prices remaining lower relative to many other countries due to historical investments in agricultural research and development. The speaker hopes readers will appreciate this historical narrative upon reading his book.

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Here are five key points from the video:

1. **Historical Significance of U.S. Agriculture**: The speaker emphasizes the historical development of American agriculture over the past 40 years, highlighting how it evolved to become the world's leading producer by 1920 through government, business, and scientific collaboration.

2. **Investment in Agricultural Research**: The importance of investing in long-term agricultural research and infrastructure is a central theme. The speaker discusses how these investments have enabled the U.S. to adapt and respond effectively to agricultural challenges and opportunities.

3. **Influence of the German Model**: The speaker notes that the United States modeled its agricultural strategies on the success of Germany, particularly in identifying regions with specific agricultural strengths and focusing on those areas rather than trying to produce everything uniformly.

4. **Lessons from the Great Depression**: The video describes the impact of overproduction during the Great Depression on American farmers and how subsequent government subsidies helped stabilize agricultural markets, allowing farmers to adjust to changing demands.

5. **Current Agricultural Success and Global Convideo**: The speaker argues that the U.S. has maintained agricultural prosperity, spending a smaller percentage of disposable income on food compared to other countries. This success is attributed to a solid research infrastructure and long-term strategies, which have contributed to lower food prices in the U.S. compared to Europe and other parts of the world.

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Here are some key quotes from the video about American agriculture and its development over the years:

1. **"I've been studying agriculture for 40 years... how we became the world’s breadbasket by 1920."**
2. **"Agricultural scientists, government, and individuals worked together to create the conditions for the United States to become the world's leader in agricultural production."**
3. **"The key to the complete picture was... why in the United States... was it so critical to make investments in the way that it was made by the American agriculture infrastructure?"**
4. **"This relationship with the US Department of Agriculture and State Experiment stations was... important in the short run, but more critically create a long run infrastructure."**
5. **"The United States is a country where there's a lot of specialization... investing in crops which have multiple uses."**
6. **"German model was identifying areas of expertise where they had some comparative advantage in their production."**
7. **"He decided that every state should receive a $5,000 stipend from the US government to focus on research, which has long-term implications rather than short-term."**
8. **"By 1920, the US was producing agricultural products in almost every segment... competitive with every other nation in the world."**
9. **"The sustainable prosperity among business and farmers and the government was the hallmark of the success of the agricultural model."**
10. **"Americans spend a lower percentage of their income on food... food prices in the United States are a bargain."**

These quotes encapsulate the overall message of the video, which emphasizes the importance of collaboration, long-term investment, and specialization in the success of American agriculture.

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

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Well, I've been studying agriculture for 40 years

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and, I, I had been trying to convince people

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for a long period of time to look at the history

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of American agriculture

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and how we became the world spread basket, by 1920.

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And I had written a series of individual articles,

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and I then decided that I could piece them together

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as a book, making a, trying to make a, an argument

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that people should pay attention to, that this was a sector

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where gov government business, and,

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and individuals

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and farmers in particular, as well

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as agricultural scientists, had worked together

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to create the conditions where it was possible

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for the United States to make investments in agriculture

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and, and seek and,

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and be successful in investing

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and creating a situation

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where the United States would become the world's leader in

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agricultural production.

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That's, that's the complicated question. I'm not sure.

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Every time I, every time I wrote one article, the one aspect

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of American agriculture, I realized

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that I had missed something, and I went back

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and I researched another aspect and I kept doing that.

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So I finally had a complete picture.

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And the key to the complete picture was, was why,

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why in the United States

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and earlier in Germany,

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which United States built its model on the German model,

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why was it so critical to make investments

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in the way that it was made

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by the American agriculture infrastructure?

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And I realized that this relationship with the US Department

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of Agriculture and State Experiment stations

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and national experiment stations was one where there these

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kind of investments could be made in a way in which

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they could be important in the short run,

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but more critically create a long run infrastructure in

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agriculture so the United States could respond quickly.

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And, for example, one example of that was,

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the situation to, to, to do different diseases

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that affected American animals.

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And the United States set up a national association

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to investigate the different diseases

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that hit either the Cotton Bowl, or,

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or, or farm animals.

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Um, and as they moved to

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investigating these different things, they put together

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national centers dividing the country into four pieces,

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and then little pieces adding up to the whole.

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So it's a complicated argument,

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but it's a very clear argument about, about creating

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capabilities in the agricultural sector to respond

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to different and varied conditions across the country.

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The United States is not a country

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where every state produces agricultural products.

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Um, it's a country where there's a lot of specialization

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and there's a lot of attempts

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To invest in, in crops which have multiple uses, such as

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soybeans, Germany, in a much smaller country, obviously,

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than the United States, divided different parts

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of the country into pieces.

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And the United States noticed this,

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that one region was focused on, for example, beet sugar.

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Another reason was focused on

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cotton meant corn.

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Um, and, and,

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and another was focused on animal husbandry.

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So what the German model was identifying areas

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of expertise where they had some comparative advantage

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in their production and expanding on those

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and not trying to do everything.

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Um, unlike other, other models of, of,

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agriculture, like the problem in Japan was they couldn't

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figure out a way to create

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the right conditions in order to produce as much product

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as possible for a country that didn't have the same set

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of conditions that were true in Germany.

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So these kind of investments in Germany, were looked at

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by the rest of the world differently.

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And at some point in the 1850s, 1860s,

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American agricultural scientists started going to Germany

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to see exactly what they were doing that made them

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so competitive and so successful,

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and they created these opportunities, in which, in,

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later in the United States, but then coming back

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and using aspects of the German model

04:32.635 --> 04:34.085
that they felt like was appropriate

04:34.085 --> 04:35.805
for the American situation.

04:36.405 --> 04:37.565
I can give you one example.

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After the Civil War, a lot of agriculture investment,

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which had been done prior to the Civil War,

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was focused on testing for one of the best fertilizers.

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Uh, Albert True, became head of the,

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OES,

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and as, as, which was the wing, which focused on research,

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in the US Department of Agriculture.

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And, and he noticed

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that there is way too much time spent on picking up the best

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fertilizer, and the differences

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among the fertilizers was minimal,

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but farmers cared a lot about that and important,

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but that wasn't really research that was just dealing

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with the temporary problem that I no long term implications.

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So he forced is probably too strong,

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but he was such a powerful figure.

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He's one of my heroes in the book.

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Um, he, he decided that every

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state should receive a $5,000 stipend from the US government

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to focus on research,

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which Hasn had long term implications

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rather than short term.

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And that's what I mean when I say research infrastructure.

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By giving every state $5,000, they could move slowly away

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from this model of focusing on just

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what the best fertilizer is for the particular

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soil conditions in one state, where it's another state

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to focus on long term problems.

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For example, how to figure out a, a way to meet the demand

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for, soybeans, which had,

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which was growing dramatically for how to meet demand

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for corn, which is growing irreparably as well,

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where were the best conditions for wheat.

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And as, as this money flowed from the US to US government,

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to the different states, they were able

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to focus particularly on what their expertise was

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rather than having to try to do everything particularly

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wasted research on, on fertilizers.

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It's not that the work on fertilizers was unimportant,

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but it was a temporary problem, not,

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which had short term implications.

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Whereas Alfred True

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and Secretary of Agricul Wilson wanted to focus on aspects

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of research, which would give them edge

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and edge in terms of,

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long term applications.

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Well, by 1920,

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the US was producing agriculture products in almost every

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segment of, of the country, which was competitive

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with every other nation in the world.

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Um, and by 19, so between 1880

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and between 1920, a 40 year period,

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United States not only adopted the German model,

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but that surpassed it.

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Now, Germany was looking to the United States to see why,

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why they, why the ones competitive and,

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and powerful agricultural nation was now second to

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a country which research first short term problems second.

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So, so that long term research takes a lot of time

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to germinate and develop.

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And in fact, it took

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after 1920, in every case as I as I stated,

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getting more and more successful, then came

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of course great depression.

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And, and our farmers were hit

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actually much earlier in the, in the 1920s.

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And they, they were, the problem was overproduction.

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So the United States was so successful, they,

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they're producing so many agricultural products

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that the price of the product was dropping dramatically,

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and farmers are going out of business.

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Um, then have the post-World War II period

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where craft sub cities are introduced

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and craft sub basically stabilize markets all across the

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United States in different products.

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And therefore, when demand went out for more corn,

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for example, they could adjust to that.

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Whereas the demand went out for more soybeans.

08:44.605 --> 08:48.025
Um, and similarly, similarly, cotton, cotton,

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cotton.

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And actually during World War ii, they discovered

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that they could make something called Dre.

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And all of a sudden the demand for DRE

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and other products from native kad increased dramatically,

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therefore resuscitating a agricultural

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sustainable prosperity in cotton,

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which had not been the case before.

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Um, so these kinds of investments really created what,

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what economic concerns like myself

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and Bill, call the developmental state,

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where the government works with business

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and with farmers, our scientists, in order to,

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to create sustainable prosperity.

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I think I demonstrate quite clearly

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the sustainable prosperity among business and farmers

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and the government was the hallmark of the success

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of the agricultural model that I argue, created

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organizational capability all across the sectors

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and all across the states and the United States.

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And it isn't, it isn't, a situation

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where much has changed in the future.

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Um, if you look, if you look at the history

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of our success in agriculture, it's one of the few areas

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where we still are the leader in exports

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and in fact, we could produce more if the rest of the world

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didn't put restrictions on our production in terms

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of terrorists and other things like that.

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We, we have created sustainable prosperity

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in agriculture in the United States.

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And United States, for example, spends seven to 8%

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of its of its disposable income individually.

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This is just an estimate, on food.

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Americans spend a lower percentage of food

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where in Europe is, it's anywhere from 20 to 30%.

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Sure enough to tell you that about London, where food,

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where I've been, where food is not cheap.

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Um, and, and it's very interesting.

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People take it for granted.

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They presume the food prices are high,

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but if you lived in Germany, if you lived in France,

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if you lived in Japan

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and other parts of the world, you would realize

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that food price in the United States are a bargain.

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And they're a bargain because the research infrastructure

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put into place over a long, long period of time,

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successively send away and made it.

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They made food prices in the United States considerably,

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lower than they are elsewhere.

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Um, and it's really hard, as you said,

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to maintain sustain prosperity.

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But in agricultural sector, it's been a success.

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It's that history that I hope people would,

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would read and understand.

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One, they read my book.

"The Evolution of American Agriculture: A Historical Perspective on Success and Collaboration"

00:00:00 - Well, I've been studying agriculture for 40 years and, I, I had been trying to convince people for a long period of time to look at the history of American agriculture and how we became the world spread basket, by 1920. And I had written a series of individual articles, and I then decided that I could piece them together as a book, making a, trying to make a, an argument that people should pay attention to, that this was a sector where gov government business, and, and individuals and farmers in particular, as well as agricultural scientists, had worked together to create the conditions where it was possible for the United States to make investments in agriculture
00:00:45 - and be successful in investing and creating a situation where the United States would become the world's leader in agricultural production. That's, that's the complicated question. I'm not sure. Every time I, every time I wrote one article, the one aspect of American agriculture, I realized that I had missed something, and I went back and I researched another aspect and I kept doing that. So I finally had a complete picture. And the key to the complete picture was, was why, why in the United States and earlier in Germany, which United States built its model on the German model,
00:01:31 - in the way that it was made by the American agriculture infrastructure? And I realized that this relationship with the US Department of Agriculture and State Experiment stations and national experiment stations was one where there these kind of investments could be made in a way in which they could be important in the short run, but more critically create a long run infrastructure in agriculture so the United States could respond quickly. And, for example, one example of that was, the situation to, to, to do different diseases
00:02:09 - And the United States set up a national association to investigate the different diseases that hit either the Cotton Bowl, or, or, or farm animals. and as they moved to investigating these different things, they put together national centers dividing the country into four pieces, and then little pieces adding up to the whole. So it's a complicated argument, but it's a very clear argument about, about creating capabilities in the agricultural sector to respond to different and varied conditions across the country.
00:02:50 - where every state produces agricultural products. it's a country where there's a lot of specialization and there's a lot of attempts To invest in, in crops which have multiple uses, such as soybeans, Germany, in a much smaller country, obviously, than the United States, divided different parts of the country into pieces. And the United States noticed this, that one region was focused on, for example, beet sugar. Another reason was focused on cotton meant corn. and, and, and another was focused on animal husbandry.
00:03:34 - of expertise where they had some comparative advantage in their production and expanding on those and not trying to do everything. unlike other, other models of, of, agriculture, like the problem in Japan was they couldn't figure out a way to create the right conditions in order to produce as much product as possible for a country that didn't have the same set of conditions that were true in Germany. So these kind of investments in Germany, were looked at by the rest of the world differently.

"Adapting Agricultural Strategies: The Influence of German Models on American Success"

00:04:16 - American agricultural scientists started going to Germany to see exactly what they were doing that made them so competitive and so successful, and they created these opportunities, in which, in, later in the United States, but then coming back and using aspects of the German model that they felt like was appropriate for the American situation. I can give you one example. After the Civil War, a lot of agriculture investment, which had been done prior to the Civil War, was focused on testing for one of the best fertilizers.
00:04:57 - OES, and as, as, which was the wing, which focused on research, in the US Department of Agriculture. And, and he noticed that there is way too much time spent on picking up the best fertilizer, and the differences among the fertilizers was minimal, but farmers cared a lot about that and important, but that wasn't really research that was just dealing with the temporary problem that I no long term implications. So he forced is probably too strong, but he was such a powerful figure.
00:05:35 - he, he decided that every state should receive a $5,000 stipend from the US government to focus on research, which Hasn had long term implications rather than short term. And that's what I mean when I say research infrastructure. By giving every state $5,000, they could move slowly away from this model of focusing on just what the best fertilizer is for the particular soil conditions in one state, where it's another state to focus on long term problems. For example, how to figure out a, a way to meet the demand for, soybeans, which had,
00:06:19 - for corn, which is growing irreparably as well, where were the best conditions for wheat. And as, as this money flowed from the US to US government, to the different states, they were able to focus particularly on what their expertise was rather than having to try to do everything particularly wasted research on, on fertilizers. It's not that the work on fertilizers was unimportant, but it was a temporary problem, not, which had short term implications. Whereas Alfred True and Secretary of Agricul Wilson wanted to focus on aspects of research, which would give them edge
00:07:03 - long term applications. Well, by 1920, the US was producing agriculture products in almost every segment of, of the country, which was competitive with every other nation in the world. and by 19, so between 1880 and between 1920, a 40 year period, United States not only adopted the German model, but that surpassed it. Now, Germany was looking to the United States to see why, why they, why the ones competitive and, and powerful agricultural nation was now second to
00:07:47 - So, so that long term research takes a lot of time to germinate and develop. And in fact, it took after 1920, in every case as I as I stated, getting more and more successful, then came of course great depression. And, and our farmers were hit actually much earlier in the, in the 1920s. And they, they were, the problem was overproduction. So the United States was so successful, they, they're producing so many agricultural products that the price of the product was dropping dramatically, and farmers are going out of business.

"Crafting Sustainable Prosperity: The Role of Government and Innovation in American Agriculture"

00:08:27 - where craft sub cities are introduced and craft sub basically stabilize markets all across the United States in different products. And therefore, when demand went out for more corn, for example, they could adjust to that. Whereas the demand went out for more soybeans. and similarly, similarly, cotton, cotton, cotton. And actually during World War ii, they discovered that they could make something called Dre. And all of a sudden the demand for DRE
00:09:08 - therefore resuscitating a agricultural sustainable prosperity in cotton, which had not been the case before. so these kinds of investments really created what, what economic concerns like myself and Bill, call the developmental state, where the government works with business and with farmers, our scientists, in order to, to create sustainable prosperity. I think I demonstrate quite clearly the sustainable prosperity among business and farmers
00:09:48 - of the agricultural model that I argue, created organizational capability all across the sectors and all across the states and the United States. And it isn't, it isn't, a situation where much has changed in the future. if you look, if you look at the history of our success in agriculture, it's one of the few areas where we still are the leader in exports and in fact, we could produce more if the rest of the world didn't put restrictions on our production in terms of terrorists and other things like that. We, we have created sustainable prosperity in agriculture in the United States.
00:10:32 - of its of its disposable income individually. This is just an estimate, on food. Americans spend a lower percentage of food where in Europe is, it's anywhere from 20 to 30%. Sure enough to tell you that about London, where food, where I've been, where food is not cheap. and, and it's very interesting. People take it for granted. They presume the food prices are high, but if you lived in Germany, if you lived in France, if you lived in Japan and other parts of the world, you would realize that food price in the United States are a bargain.
00:11:40 - put into place over a long, long period of time, successively send away and made it. They made food prices in the United States considerably, lower than they are elsewhere. and it's really hard, as you said, to maintain sustain prosperity. But in agricultural sector, it's been a success. It's that history that I hope people would, would read and understand. One, they read my book.

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