…understanding of the land, Kansas would eventually become one of the most productive agricultural states in the United States. But in those early years, agriculture on the Kansas frontier was…
Ellis-Chalmers: Steam Power and the Machinery Behind Early American Agriculture
…Thomas Chalmers: A Scottish Immigrant Engineer Another key figure in the story was Thomas Chalmers, a skilled engineer who immigrated from Scotland to the United States around 1842. After arriving…
Colonial Fur Trade and Wheat Demand Shaped Early American Farming
International trade played a powerful role in shaping agriculture in early America. Long before the United States became a global agricultural powerhouse, colonial farmers and traders were already responding to…
Early American Farmers and the Cycle of Moving West
…historian Louis Hacker, who documented how early American settlers managed the land as they pushed westward across the expanding United States. The Pioneer Expansion Era According to Hacker’s historical research,…
The Homestead Act: How Free Land Transformed North American Agriculture
…under the act. These farms helped populate the Great Plains, Midwest, and western territories. Homesteading encouraged the growth of small family farms, new agricultural towns, and rural communities that relied…
The Rise of Open Range Ranching on the Great Plains
A New Era of Cattle Ranching in the American West In the late 19th century, the western Great Plains emerged as one of the most important cattle-producing regions in the…
Early American Farmers Move West After the Revolution
America Pushes West: Farming Beyond the Appalachians Following the end of the American Revolutionary War, a major shift began to reshape the young United States. One of the earliest barriers…
Marietta and the Birth of America’s Northwest Frontier
…become several Midwestern states including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. At the time, it represented one of the young nation’s most important opportunities for westward expansion…
Dairy Leadership: Melvin Mederios on the Future of Milk
…the Ag Meter, dairy leader Melvin Mederios, chairman of the Western Council for Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), shared an inside look at the challenges and opportunities facing dairy farmers…
Fresno’s Pappy’s Seasoning: A Family Legacy Built on Flavor
…in the United States began in 1896 when Eddie’s grandfather immigrated from Greece. After spending time in San Francisco, he eventually settled in Fresno around 1906, where he raised sheep,…
A Fresno Success Story Featured on the AgNet News Hour
…as a small family effort in the Central Valley has grown into a business whose products now appear in grocery stores across California and much of the United States. Yet…
The Growth of American Agriculture: From Colonial Times to the Mid-20th Century
Agriculture has been at the heart of the United States since its earliest days. From the first English settlers to the expansive farms of the 20th century, the story of…
Dairy Leadership, Innovation, and Challenges with Melvin Medeiros
The AgNet News Hour recently featured an in-depth conversation with dairy leader Melvin Medeiros, chairman of the Western Council for Dairy Farmers of America (DFA). In a wide-ranging interview with…
America’s Westward Expansion and the Transformation of Agriculture
New Opportunities After 1803 Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the American victory in the War of 1812, the United States entered a period of remarkable territorial and economic…