This book traces the diffusion of industrial agriculture by looking closely at the main components of this process in its first generation, between 1918 and 1930. The story begins in 1918 because a number of new, large-scale farms began operation then and were described in the national press as bellwethers of a new industrial farming era. The number of these farms continued to grow through the 1920s, peaking in 1929. The book examines the contextual gridwork on which the transformation from traditional to industrial agriculture hung, and discusses the great diversity of American rural landscap ... More

This book traces the diffusion of industrial agriculture by looking closely at the main components of this process in its first generation, between 1918 and 1930. The story begins in 1918 because a number of new, large-scale farms began operation then and were described in the national press as bellwethers of a new industrial farming era. The number of these farms continued to grow through the 1920s, peaking in 1929. The book examines the contextual gridwork on which the transformation from traditional to industrial agriculture hung, and discusses the great diversity of American rural landscapes and the farm products that came from them, as well as their amenability to the industrializing push. It also examines the role of World War I in destabilizing both farm production and rural expectations. After exploring the intriguing and ultimately irresistible attraction of new factories and businesses that promoted rational management and mechanization, and which seemed a fitting model for agriculture, the book discusses the development of two metrics that were used to frame and maintain the industrializing impulse: quantification and mechanization. It also explores the emergence of agricultural economics as an academic discipline, and its practical application in farm communities and federal agencies.