Progress in Agriculture Competencies

Progress Through Engineering  Little progress in agriculture is recorded before 1800 AD  The use of Iron revolutionized American and European agriculture  Most of the world did not catch on as fast

Progress Through Engineering  Mechanization helps less than 2% of America’s work force meet the food and fiber needs of our nation  There has been a reduction of 90% of our nation’s population involved in production farming over the last 200 years

Eli Whitney  Invented the cotton gin  1793  Transformed cotton to a usable product  Removed cotton seed from cotton fiber

Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin

Katherine Greene  Widow of Revolutionary general, Nathaniel Greene  Whitney worked on Ms. Greene’s farm  Some say Ms. Greene invented the cotton gin

Cyrus McCormick  Invented the grain reaper  1834  Cut grains  Cut wheat, oats, and other crops

Cutting Grain  With the sickle or reaping hook one man could cut from one- half to one acre in a hard day's work.  The cut grain was later bound by hand

The Reaper

 While this first machine required only 2 people for operation (a person to ride the horse and a man to rake the cut grain from the platform), it cut as much grain in one day as men with reaping hooks.

Cast Iron Plow  Invented in the early 1800’s  Thomas Jefferson  Rough surface that dirt stuck to

Steel Moldboard Plow  Invented 1837  John Deere  Smoother surface  Rich clay soil did not stick to it  Made plowing easier and faster

Corn Picker  Invented in 1850  Edmund Quincy  Helped speed up the harvesting of corn

Milking Machine  Invented in 1878  Anna Baldwin  Used vacuum suction  Replaced hand milking

Tractor  Invented in 1904  Benjamin Holt  Replaced the mule as a source of power  Horse power

The world we live in today!

Population Facts!  Worldwide there are over 6 billion people.  ½ of the world population do not have indoor plumbing. (bathroom toilets)  Approximately 1 billion people today do not have adequate diets.  Every minute the world’s population is increasing by 150 people. That is 220,000 people each day. The world population is expected to reach 7 billion by the year 2010 and 8 billion by the year 2022.

Why is the population increasing at such an fast pace?  More children are surviving childhood – due to better prenatal care and medical science.  Adults are living longer. Average age of death in the US is 77. In Japan its 80, and in Zimbabwe its 38.

Problems created from Population Growth  If we cannot feed the world’s population now, how will we feed millions more.  More and more productive farmland is being gobbled up for use for highways, businesses, and homes.  Increased populations have an impact on our environment. (Water, soil, and air)

The Challenge: Create more with less resources.  New and modified plants.  Improved growth of livestock  Better understanding of human diets.  Improved conservation methods.  Improved machines.  Be training and sharing of knowledge

Ancient Proverb: Give a man a fish and he will eat today, teach him how to fish and he will eat forever.

Green Revolution  Process where many countries became self sufficient in food production by using improved technology provided by U. S. agriculture  In the 1950s, we took our agricultural technology to Brazil and taught them how to use it. Today they are our biggest agricultural competitor.

Green Industry  Growth in the horticulture industry with emphasis on turf and landscape plants.  As people become more affluent they spend their money to improve their surroundings. (plants)  As people have more spare time, they use it for leisure. Golf is the fastest growing sport in the world.

Agriculture Trends  20% of all U.S. jobs are agriculturally related in the areas of production of food and fiber, processing of products and distribution, and supplying and servicing the agricultural industry.  The fewest of these jobs are in the production areas.

Trends Continued:  The number of U.S. farms continue to decrease and the size of farms increase.  Poultry continues to be the most eaten source of meat protein in the U.S. and is our number one meat export.  Soybeans are the world’s most important source of vegetable oil and provide basic materials for the manufacture of hundreds of products we use everyday.

Trends Continued:  The number of jobs available in Agriculture continue to increase, especially for college graduates.  More people are concerned about environmental issues then ever before in history.  People are becoming more concerned about the quality of their food and issues concerning the use of technology in food production is important.

NC Agriculture  NC is the 3 rd most diversified state in the nation behind California and Texas.  NC ranks first nationwide in these commodities: Total tobacco, flue-cured tobacco, sweet potatoes, and turkeys.  Other top rankings include: 2 nd in hogs, 4 th in greenhouse/nursery products, 4 th in broilers, and 4 th in peanuts.

 In the 1990’s NC top three commodities were: tobacco, hogs and broilers  Today in 2005 the top three are Hogs, broilers and Greenhouse and Nursery products.  Tobacco which use to be king in NC has dropped to fourth and continues to be on the decline. Why?

List of some of NC products: TurkeysBroilersHogs CattleDairySheep GoatsOstrichesEmus EggsQuailDucks HorsesCatfishStriped bass TroutHoneyTobacco CottonSoybeansWheat RyeBarleyCucumbers Sw. potatoesPotatoesHay PeanutsBlueberriespeppers

Products continued: CabbageTomatoesWatermelons CantaloupesSnap beansStrawberries Sweet cornGrapesApples PeachesPecansChrist. Trees FlowersNursery plantsRabbits GreensOnionsCarrots BeetsRutabagasSquash Egg plantsCornOats

Sampson County  Ranks 1 st in NC in total Agriculture.  Our top products are: turkeys, hogs, cotton, sweet potatoes, hay, tobacco, corn.  Overall cash receipts for Sampson County was $565,814,000 in 2002.

Factors that make NC attractive for Agriculture  Overall Climate (three geographic regions with varied weather)  Highway system  Location along the eastern seaboard of the U.S.  Two Ports (Wilmington and Morehead City)

A Changing NC  75% of NC population live in 7 urban counties. (Johnston County is the second fastest growing county in the US)  Becoming more of an urban state and less agricultural.  Tourism is a major industry in NC  Becoming a technological society vs. agricultural society. (RTP)

Agricultural Careers  65% of all new jobs are skilled jobs. (Usually require some additional training beyond high school.  20% of all jobs will continue to be professional jobs (4yr college degree)  Needs of the 21 st Century Workforce: Education, Work Ethic, Leadership, Honesty, and Integrity

 The agriscience industry that involves the management of wetlands, rangelands, water, fish, and wildlife is:  ? Agriscience supplies and services.  ? Renewable natural resources.  ? Production agriscience.  ? Forestry.

 The trend in agriculture is for increased:  ? Commercialization.  ? Independent farmers.  ? Pesticide use.  ? Land use.

 The agriscience industry composed of people who haul, grade, process, package, and market commodities from production sources is:  ? Agriscience processing, products, and distribution.  ? Agriscience supplies and services.  ? Agriscience mechanics.  ? Agriscience professions.

 The career area that offers the highest percent of opportunities for college graduates in agriscience is:  ? Marketing, merchandising, and sales representatives.  ? Agricultural production specialists.  ? Scientists, engineers, and related professionals.  ? Education and communication specialists.

 The design, operation, maintenance, service, selling, and use of power units, machinery, equipment structures, and utilities in agriscience is:  ? Agriscience mechanics.  ? Agriscience supplies and services.  ? Horticulture.  ? Forestry.

 The agriscience industry that includes producing, processing, and marketing fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants is:  ? Production agriscience.  ? Forestry.  ? Renewable natural resources.  ? Horticulture.

 The industry that grows, manages, and harvests trees for lumber, poles, posts, pulpwood, and many other commodities is:  ? Renewable natural resources.  ? Horticulture.  ? Production agriscience.  ? Forestry.

 The reaper was invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1834 to:  ? Cut and stack grain in the field.  ? Gather hay crops and put them in bales.  ? Shell corn from the cob.  ? Cut grain in the field.

 About what percent of the work force is on the farm in the United States?  ? 12  ? 7  ? 2  ? 10

 The tractor largely replaced the mule for horsepower and was invented by:  ? Benjamin Holt.  ? Anna Baldwin.  ? Eli Whitney.  ? Edmund Quincy.

 John Deere Company is still a leader in the agricultural equipment industry, but got it starts with the invention of the:  ? Corn picker.  ? Tractor.  ? Milking machine.  ? Steel moldboard plow.

 The cotton gin removes the cottonseed from the cotton fiber and was invented by:  ? Anna Baldwin.  ? Edmund Quincy.  ? Eli Whitney.  ? Benjamin Holt.

 In 1878 a milking machine was invented by:  ? Eli Whitney.  ? Anna Baldwin.  ? John Deere.  ? Massey Ferguson.

 Which crop produces a grain export that consistently ranks at the top of United States crop exports?  ? Corn  ? Cotton  ? Sweet potatoes  ? Tobacco

 Agriscience accounts for what percent of the jobs in the United States?  ? 30  ? 20  ? 40  ? 10

 In , the top three agricultural commodities in cash receipts for North Carolina were:  ? Cotton, cattle, and tobacco.  ? Turkeys, corn, and soybeans.  ? Broilers, corn, and wheat.  ? Hogs, broilers, and tobacco.

 What is the world's most important source of vegetable oil, that provides the basic materials for hundreds of products?  ? Soybean  ? Corn kernel  ? Sunflower seed  ? Peanut

 What was the number one meat export from the United States in ?  ? Sheep  ? Poultry  ? Pork  ? Beef

 The process where many countries became self-sufficient in food production in the 1960s by utilizing improved varieties and practices was the:  ? Industrial Revolution.  ? Agricultural Revolution.  ? Technology Revolution.  ? Green

 As the average number of farms decrease in the United States, what will happen to the average farm size?  ? Decrease slightly  ? Increase significantly  ? Stay the same  ? Decrease by more than 50%