Ag Exam 1

History of the plow: 1720

Joseph Folijambe

1785

James Small

1797

Charles Newbold

1807

David Peacock

1814

Jethro Wood

1837

John Deere "Steel" Plow

1868

James Oliver "Chilled Iron" Plow

the og mechanism for plowing:

disc harrow

what is no till farming

the practice of using no soil tillage prior to planting

some advantages of no till farming

soil structure preserved, soil losses minimized, fertility more successfully preserved, and less energy required

no till farming is made possible by what two things

mechanization and development of herbicides to control weeds

what used to be a day's work of corn harvest by hand

harvesting 100 bushels (can now be done in 50 secs)

How big is an Acre?

43, 560 square feet

acreage of Greene County

266,000 acres

acreage of Ohio

28.6 billion

acreage of USA

2.3 billion

acreage of the world

36 billion acres

1 hectare is equal to how many acres

2.47

what is a bushel

a volumetric unit of measure whose weight depends on what's in it

1 bushel of corn is how many lbs

56

a bushel of soybeans is how many lbs

60 (also 9.3 gallons in volume)

who is in the top three for global corn production

us, china, European union

who are the top three world producers for soybeans

brazil, usa, argentina

us money is how much cotton and how many lbs in a cotton bale

75 percent cotton lint (and 25 percent linen) 480lbs

the illinois corn protein and oil selection experiment was begun by whom

Cyril G Hopkins in 1896. looked at long term selection experiment selection response from 1896 to 2016

summary of the long term experiment

scientists have used basic genetic principles to improve plant and animal characteristics until recently. Scientists are beginning to change genetic makeup to effect change

(Chapter 1) what is the definition of science

knowledge gained through the systematic study of natural phenomena

what is largely based on the science of ag

civilization

3 human needs

food clothing and shelter

when did ag start

6-10K years ago in Middle East

what has happened to production efficiency over time

it has increased and encouraged inventions in mechanization

most americans farmed until when

100 yrs ago

what four things does ag success and confidence in food supply led to

provision of basic needs, settlement and city building, other pursuits that help to advance society (such as job and pleasure like the arts), and encourages inventions and mechanization

how much of the us population today works in ag

2 percent

due to the fact that there is tremendous food and fiber production, how many people does one farmer feed. and how many of those consumers live in other countries

166; half

domestic food is and the cost is ___

abundant, low. shortages are very rare

us consumers spend how much of their income on food

10%

American ag is described as the worlds what

most efficient and safe food-production system

while the number of farms has declined, what has increased over between 1850-2020

the average farm size (100 acres per farm)

how many farms are in the us and how many acres of farmland

2 million farms, with 897 million acres, so the average size is 444 acres.

since 1940 farm numbers have declined by what

2/3

what rate is farmland being lost at

over 250,000 acres per year. an acre is lost every 2 minutes

how many of the us farms are family owned

97.7 percent, making up 86.6 percent of production

what percentage of us farms are non-family/large corporation

2.4 percent, making up 13.4 percent of production

farm production nearly what between 1945 and 2019

tripled

what is the breakdown of farm production by commodity

crops: corn (26.1%), soybeans (19.3%) animal: cattle/calf (41.7%), dairy (18.9%), poultry and egg (26.1%)

what is the annual family consumption of flour and cereal:

196.9 lbs

fats and oils:

84.9 lbs

beverage milk:

20.7 gal

eggs:

249

red meat:

110.6 lbs

rice:

20.5 lbs

cheese:

32.7 lbs

poultry:

73.7 lbs

veggies:

415 lbs

fruit:

273.2 lbs

what are the 4 main factors in the success of american ag

1. blessings from the Lord. 2. climate and soil. 3. economic system 4. scientific research

climate and soil includes what

a mild climate with good moisture from the Gulf and rich soils in river valleys and glacial till throughout the Midwest

economic system includes what

buying and selling, and infrastructure for production, marketing, and consumption

when was the USDA formed (under the topic of scientific research)

1862

what is the Morrill Act

established land grant institutions in 1862

Hatch Act

1887, established experiment stations

smith lever act

1914, established cooperative extension service

smith act

1917, established vocational ag in high schools

who established the usda

lincoln

what is the usda

national org to head ag research/related issues based on public policy, the best science, and effective management. (includes food, ag, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition)

who is the 33rd us secretary of ag and what are her roles

brooke rollins. advising president, ag policy/promotion, food safety, nutrition, rural development, natural resources, research and tech, and disaster relief

how many employees at the usda

over 100,000. 29 agencies/offices with 4500 locations across the country and abroad

what did the morrill act seek to do

1862, provided land to establish a university in each state to study the classics along with ag.

who proposed the morrill (also known as the land grant act) bill and when

justion morrill from vermont in 1857- buchanan vetoed bill, was resubmitted in 1862 and signed by lincoln (passed because of the ongoing war and secession of southern states.

What was the Hatch Act of 1887?

to develop public ag research in the us. og proposed in 1882 by rep. carpenter of iowa. it was based on ideas of seaman knapp, a prof at iowa state. it was re-proposed by congressional house ag committee. william hatch was the chair and it was signed into law by president Cleveland in 1887.this act established experiment stations for each state. it sought to acquire and spread practical info on subjects connected to ag and to perform og science-based research. each state received 15k per year to investigate issues and share results. it was closely associated with land grant schools and most experiment stations were run by the state university

who was the smith lever act authored by

1914- senator hoke smith of georgia and rep. asbury lever of sc. but was the culmination of years of advocacy by farm groups and others. it served to train farmers on improved ag practices. established extension agents and adult/youth programs such as 4Hw

what act established the cooperative extension service

the smith lever act of 1914

what is the smith-hughes act aka

national vocational educational act. authored by senator hoke smith of georgia and rep. dudley hughes of georgia

what did the smith-hughes act do

established career and technical ed for high school students and federally fund and nationally organize vocational education

what do land grant schools do

conduct ag research

what do experiment stations do

apply and test results

what do extension services do

bring new tech to farmers

what is the purpose of the scientific method

to ensure valid and reliable conclusions

what are the defined steps of the scientific method process

identify problem (question), form hypothesis, design and conduct experiment, collect and analyze experiment, collect and analyze data, draw conclusions, make recommendations

basic research:

investigates why/how plant/animal processes occur

applied research:

uses basic-research discoveries for practical purposes

some of the many benefits of scientific research in ag (This is very much common sense i fear)

higher quality, cheap beef, higher live weight of sheep, more milk per dairy cow, greater live weight in swine, broilers are 2x the weight in 1/2 the time on 1/2 the feed (duhhhhh), 2x annual egg production, and many other advances in crop production

what are the 9 milestones in ag research

animal immunization, canning/refrigeration, ag mechanization, pesticides, genetics, AI, embryo transfer, computer use, genetic engineering

what do ag co-ops exist to do

assist with marketing, supply, and service

(Chapter 2) why is soil important?

it's a natural resource that supports plant life, supports animals, and most human food production depends on soil-fruits/veggies/grains and protein from animals because they eat plants. in addition, animals will gain minerals from the soil

percentage of soil components

air 25%, water 25%, mineral participles 45%, 5% organic matter (10% organisms, 10% roots, 80% humus)

describe the difference between organic vs inorganic soils

organic was once-living parent material, inorganic is mineral parent material

two types of soil in regards to environment

water deposited (Alluvial or among most productive soils) and wind (large particles are sand and fine particles are loess)

What is soil texture?

the relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay in a given soil.

proportions and size of the soil components

sand less then 52%, 2-0.05 mm

Silt 28-50%, 0.05-0.002mm

Clay less than 27%, less than 0.002mm

what is the ideal soil

loam

what makes up loam (KNOW!)

40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay

difference between light soils and heavy soils

light soils have a high sand and low clay content.

heavy soils have a high clay content

for soil structure, arrangement of the soil particles into groups called what

aggregates (weak, moderate, and strong)

productive soils are usually granular with pore space of what percentage

40-60

what is very important in maintaining proper water-air ratio

pore size. clay soil has more pore space than sandy soil, but both have problems maintaining water/air ratios

what is pH

the potenz (the potential to be) Hydrogen. a measure of the hydronium ion concentration

concentration of water

1x10^-7 H3O+, pH of 7