I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. A farmland auction usually draws a good-sized crowd, but on a bitter, cold February morning in 2025, temperatures outside in central …
American Agriculture History Minute: Earliest Recorded One-Room Schoolhouse
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. One-room schoolhouses are part of American agriculture history, the Eureka Schoolhouse in Springfield, Vermont, one of the earliest recorded one-room schools …
American Agriculture History Minute: Farmland Values
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Farmland values have always been part of American agriculture history. Recent stories indicate that farmland values in some areas of the …
American Agriculture History Minute: One-Room Schoolhouses
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. One-room schoolhouses are a part of American agriculture history. Early settlers knew the importance of education, and since a large portion …
American Agriculture History Minute: Ethnicity Develops Early Farming Techniques
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Ethnicity certainly has made a difference in agriculture history in the United States. German Americans brought with them practices and traditions …
American Agriculture History Minute: Fertilizer Invented
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 …
American Agriculture History Minute: Early Settlers Settle Appalachian Mountains
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Once early settlers navigated the rough Appalachian Mountains, they found vast stretches of undeveloped land in what is now central and …
American Agriculture History Minute: Morrill Act of 1862 Opens Extension Offices
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Early settlers relied on friends and close neighbors for information on practices that would improve their production. Neighbors of course provided …
American Agriculture History Minute: Ste. Geneviève, Missouri Develops with Farming
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. French settlers arrived at what is now St. Louis in the early 1700s. They remained on the east bank of the …
American Agriculture History Minute: Stubborn as a Missouri Mule
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Missouri was nationally known for the quality and quantity of its mules. The state produced a superior breed of mules. Some …
American Agriculture History Minute: Missouri Established Among Farming Leading States
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Missouri has a proud agricultural tradition. In fact, the statue adorning the dome of the state capitol in Jefferson City, often …
American Agriculture History Minute: Transitioning of the Midwest
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Between the Civil War and the end of World War II, the Midwest transitioned from a rural economy to an industrial …
American Agriculture History Minute: Creation of the “Farmer’s Almanac”
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Robert Thomas is part of American agriculture history. He was born in 1766 near Boston. He took to writing in those …
American Agriculture History Minute: The Importance of St. Louis
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. The importance of St. Louis when looking at the history of American agriculture cannot be overstated. With railroads just beginning to …