I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute.
When one thinks of inventions that change the face of American agriculture, things like the steam engine, threshing machine, the cotton gin, and moldboard plow come to mind. But high on that list, and one that many times slips by our memories, fertilizer.
The actual history of fertilizer likely goes back further than all those mentioned. It took farmers hundreds of years to put two and two together and realize that manure from their livestock helped crops become more productive. Wood Ash was a popular fertilizer early on.
Modern fertilizer, a blend of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash came into existence in the late 1880s.
That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.