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Leadership in the Agricultural
- Texas A&M University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Leadership in the Agricultural environment evolution of Agriculture During the last ten thousand years, a number of major developments have created evolutionary and revolutionary changes in the initial and simple concept of agriculture. From the nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle1 to today’s global environment, feeding the population has changed dramatically. As with any evolutionary process, some changes have been slow and methodical, while others have been much more rapid and episodic.2 In the history of agriculture, initial improvements were slow and incremental for the first few thousand years. A farmer in ancient Egypt four thousand years ago would probably feel very much at home in a European farmyard in the year AD 1500, an interval of thirty-five hundred years. Crude, man-powered farm implements, such as the moldboard plow, followed by the harnessing of animals , provided the additional muscle power that produced the first truly revolutionary change in agricultural production in the Western world. Another important change occurred in this early period when human beings discovered the means of preserving food by salting, drying, or smoking various commodities. Each evolutionary step in the progression of agriculture called for critical leadership; one might even think in terms of inspired leadership . For example, in the beginning of this country, the early settlers worked with each other and with Native Americans to bring about a harvest. Almost every part of the country had some unique chal- 2 Leadership in the Agricultural environment lenges that had to be overcome before agriculture could prosper. The Midwest required sturdier cultivation tools, which led to the development of the steel plow to till the region’s heavy soils. Also, much of this potentially highly productive soil required drainage. In the South, much of the area was covered with pine forests, which had to be cleared before agriculture could be developed. While the timber was harvested and sold, the remaining fat pine stumps persisted. In fact, it was not until after World War II that many southern fields were free of the original forest remnants. In the West, the challenges were of a different sort but called for leadership in developing water sources and irrigation methods. Indeed, as agriculture emerged in each section of the country, a need for creative leadership also arose to deal with the challenges that limited agricultural production. This need has not abated. The challenge for greater agricultural productivity inspired Dr. Norman Borlaug and others to foster the “green revolution,” which reflects a truly remarkable degree of inspired leadership. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a series of incremental developments enhanced agricultural productivity.3 With rapid population growth, the requirement for more food prompted farmers to grow more crops and livestock, and the use of horses and oxen provided more power for working the land. A steady improvement in tools such as the cradle (to hold grain, etc.) and the scythe also increased farm productivity. With the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, preparing cotton for market became much more efficient, providing a cash crop for a new, fledgling United States. To encourage the growth of agriculture in these early years as a nation, land was plentiful and available free or at minimal cost, as evidenced in the Homestead Act. As the nineteenth century was drawing to a close, the advent of mechanization in agriculture brought about other startling and revolutionary changes. The invention of the internal combustion engine allowed gasoline and electrically generated power to replace the mus- [18.190.156.80] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 19:25 GMT) Leadership in the Agricultural environment 3 cle power of both man and beast. In the latter part of the twentieth century, as these devices were developed further, they were incorporated into a great variety of agricultural processes, producing yet another revolution in the production of foodstuffs. The twentieth century also brought crop (especially corn) hybridization and the introduction of agrochemicals. Toward the end of the century the science of biotechnology, which created new and more useful food crops, gained a foothold. These advancements dramatically increased crop yields for the average farmer by allowing food grown by fewer individuals to be used to feed the world’s increasing population. As the twenty-first century proceeds, agriculture is expanding its traditional portfolio. In the past, agriculture provided food for humans , feed for livestock and poultry, and agronomic and horticultural crops, and also met fiber needs. Now added to these traditional expectations is a demand for farmers to produce biomass, which can be...