The Development of U.S. Agricultural Research and Education: An Economic Perspective

This Centennial year of the Hatch Act, which established state agricultural experiment stations in the United States, provides an opportunity to reflect on the beginning, development, growth, and impacts ,of agricultural research and education in the United States. Public sector agricultural research started in the United States in the mid-19th century. Private sector inventive activity started even earlier. Major landmarks in public sector institutions for agricultural research were the establishment of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862, the Morrill Act of 1862 giving federal land-grants to each state for the support of a college to teach agri culture and mechanical arts, and the Hatch Act of 1887 giving federal support to state agricultural experiment stations. Public agricultural extension activities started about the turn of the century, and the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 established the Cooperative Extension Service. •This book is organized into five parts and 14 chapters.