(Module 36) The Second Agricultral Revolution

Second Agricultural Revolution: Period that brought improved methods of cultivation, harvesting, and storage of farm produce that began in late 1600s and continued through the 1930s.

Mechanization of Agriculture

Seed Drill: A machine for planting seeds in a row.

  • Pulled by horses or oxen. After drilling holes in the soil neatly, organized rows, the seed drill sowed the seeds by shooting them into the newly dug rows.

Scythe: An agriculture hand tool with a curved blade used for cutting grain in the fields.

Mechanical Reaper: A machine used to harvest grain crops mechanically; patented by Cryus McCormick in 1831.

Tractor: The earliest tractors (mid-nineteenth century) were steam-powered, heavy, cumbersome, and difficult to transport. Until the invention of the internal combustion engine (late-nineteenth century) most famers used oxen and horses to pull farm machines.

Railroads: Railroads made it cheaper to transport produce and grain crops from farms to markets and ports. Railroads also allowed farmers to haul equipment and livestock to their farms.

Shipping Canals: Nineteenth century shipping canals also increased farm productivity [eg., Erie Canal (finished in 1825) allowed transport at one-tenth the overhead cost and in less than half of the previous time].

Agrichemicals:

Agrichemicals: Chemicals compounds obtained from petroleum and natural gas for use in agriculture; agriculture chemicals include fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.

Synthetic Fertilizers: Industrially manufactured nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, made from petroleum by-products; contains higher concentrations of nutrients for plants than natural fertilizers.

Pesticides: Material used to kill or repel animals or insects that can damage, destroy, or inhibit crop growth.

Herbicides: Pesticides designed to kill or inhibitors the growth of unwanted plants (weeds) that compete with crops.

Impact on Society:

Better Diets and Increased Population:

  • Better diets resulted in increased populations and increased rural-to-urban migration.

Economic Shift:

  • An increase in agricultural productivity also led to a shift from primarily subsistence farming to the production of cash crops. Farming to meet the family’s needs changed to faring for market demands.

  • Shift to major cooperations and away from smaller family farms.

Women’s Roles and Labor:

  • Individual farm women, who were once known for certain production (e.g., cheese), lost their role in their local economy.

  • Rural-to-urban migration, led to the rapid increase in the urban population, affecting urban infrastructure (e.g., increased demand for water, problems with sanitation, housing shortage).

  • Fewer people needed in rural farm-work; more people needed for factory jobs.

Impact on the Environment:

Nutrient Pollution: Consequence of overuse of fertilizer; occurs when excess nutrients seep down into ground-water or are carried into nearby rivers by runoff.

Runoff: The flow of rain or irrigation water over land.