A Historic Beginning in Denver According to agricultural historian Mark Oppold, the National Western Stock Show in Denver first began in 1906, establishing itself as one of the most enduring…
Early Agricultural Experiments in Kansas: A Government-Led Effort
Expanding West After the Louisiana Purchase In the early 1820s, following the landmark Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States government began turning its attention toward agricultural development in the…
From Soldiers to Sodbusters: How Union Veterans Settled Kansas
…Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Sponsored Content CIR Agriculture Harvester Products March 1, 2026 Let’s Talk Livestock Risk Protection For Those Beef On Dairy Animals – Matt…
From Failed Crops to the Wheat State: Early Kansas Agriculture
…laid the foundation for Kansas’s enduring identity as a wheat powerhouse — a legacy that continues to shape American agriculture today. I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute….
Colonial Fur Trade and Wheat Demand Shaped Early American Farming
…international markets. In the early 1700s, demand from Europe for both natural resources and food helped drive economic growth across several regions of the American colonies. From the booming fur…
Early American Farmers and the Cycle of Moving West
American agriculture has always been shaped by the land—and by how farmers chose to use it. In today’s American Agriculture History Minute, agricultural broadcaster Mark Oppold highlights the work of…
The Hard Lessons of the Great Plains: Early Settler Struggles
Early Settlers vs. Harsh Realities The promise of the Great Plains as fertile, open land for farming drew many settlers westward in the 19th century. However, as Mark Oppold highlights…
Marietta and the Birth of America’s Northwest Frontier
…that would sustain both local communities and growing markets. Marietta became a model for organized westward settlement under the Northwest Ordinance, a landmark policy that established how territories could transition…
America’s Westward Expansion and the Transformation of Agriculture
…to distant markets. Together, land expansion and transportation innovation created unprecedented opportunities for American agriculture. Cheap, Fertile Land — At a Cost For ambitious farmers, the expanding frontier offered a…
Ethnicity’s Role in Early American Agriculture
…American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold highlights how German-Americans, Scottish settlers, and Irish immigrants each contributed uniquely to the agricultural foundation of the United States. German-American Agricultural Traditions German-Americans brought…
640 Acres and a Fresh Start: Early Tennessee Land Grants
…the United States. 640 Acres and a Fresh Start: Early Tennessee Land Grants Today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Sponsored Content CIR Agriculture Harvester Products March 1, 2026…
Sharing Knowledge on the Frontier: Early Agricultural Extension in America
…one vital resource—their neighbors. Learning from Those Around You As Mark Oppold notes in his American Agriculture History Minute, “Early settlers relied on friends and close neighbors for information on…
St. Genevieve: Early French Farming on the Mississippi
…American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Sponsored Content CIR Agriculture Harvester Products March 1, 2026 Let’s Talk Livestock Risk Protection For Those Beef On Dairy Animals – Matt Ramsey…
Missouri’s Mule Legacy in American Agriculture
…small group of traders and feeders, raising and marketing mules provided a full-time livelihood. These individuals specialized in breeding, feeding, and preparing animals for sale in regional and national markets….