Show US U 0 S agriculture depart department M ent marks important half centar century of research by J K mccarren exactly 50 years ago on february 9 1889 congress decided that farming was important to americas fu future ture today the department of agriculture celebrates its golden anniversary as an executive branch of the government a cabinet officer ul ate a department was actually created 27 years earlier amid the stress of the civil war by president lincoln between 1862 to 1889 however it was directed by a commissioner of agriculture in the patent office and annual appropriations went largely for the purchase and distribution ot of seeds and plants and tor for gathering statistical data on agriculture with the passage of the hatch act in 1887 research was encouraged at state agricultural experiment stations the measure also encouraged a more extensive federal program for agriculture with congress appropriating pria ting funds specifically for investigating ti crop production plant and animal diseases insect pests rec la mation and certain economic P i as an executive branch of the government the department part ment in reality became grownup toward the end of the nineteenth century economic conditions and federal legislation broadened the departments responsibilities tar far beyond the realm of production science As the settlement of the country proceeded and production expanded new problems arose activities expanded it was necessary to find additional outlets for agricultural commodities to cheapen and improve their distribution and to aid farmers in matching their production with demand during this period the department part ment developed various economic services notably crop and live stock reporting market regu u lation and the dissemination of economic information in 1913 with special congressional authority it began systematic work in marketing congress authorized the further development of commodity grading and inspection services and the provision of a nationwide nation wide market news service after the world war it became necessary to deal with production and marketing as the two halves of a single problem experimental legislation including the agricultural marketing act of 1929 led eventually y to the e enactment of the agricultural adjustment act in 1933 and su subsequently b se to the enactment of the soil conservation and domestic allotment act to a large extent however the department has been and still is a research institution through its research agriculture and industry have reaped huge benefits the late sir horace plunkett Ir elands noted authority on agriculture described it as perhaps the most popular and respected of the worlds great aa institutions estimated esti gated splenetic fever smut artmont art ment research has many bant achievements to its credit many of which reach far beyond the field of agriculture in 1893 department part ment scientists proved that a microorganism micro organism found in the blood of cattle was the cause of splenetic fever and that the disease was transmitted by the cattle tick this was the first demonstration that a microbial disease can be transmitted exclusively by an insect carrier this discovery led physicians to the knowledge that such diseases as yellow fever malaria african sleeping sickness rocky bocky mountain fever and other maladies are similarly transmitted it made possible the control of yellow fever in the panama canal zone and the united states completed the canal after the french had failed after years of fruitless efforts by scientists of many countries department workers in 1903 discovered that hog cholera Is caused by a filterable virus and developed a preventive serum that controls the disease this discovery saves millions of dollars for american farmers every year developed better products cheap nitrogen from the air produced by a synthetic ammonia process in many american plants is to a large extent an outgrowth of research in the departments laboratories this development resulted in in the collapse of the foreign monopoly in organic nitrogen fertilizers and the united states is well on the road to independence in its requirements quire ments tor for fertilizer raw materials te research in the department dem for the first time that resistance si to disease in plants is a genetic character and that resistant qualities can be bred into plants this discovery has led to tar far reaching improvement in wheat oats cotton tobacco sugar cane tomatoes cabbage potatoes and other important crops this phase of research is well illustrated by the discovery of department scientists that mosaic disease was wiping out the sugar cane industry in the deep south introduction ot of mo 0 resistant stocks from the tar far east and a consistent quality breeding program have restored sugar cane productivity within a few years year these are just a few examples ot of what department research has done for the american farmer many of the experiments are conducted in operation cooperation co with state experiment stations there are now more than 1200 operative cooperative co research agreements between the department and the experiment stations operative cooperative co research received another big impetus in the bank head jones act which provides special funds tor for basic research the act also serves to integrate state and federal research through regional laboratories more far reach ing in this respect was section of the agricultural adjustment act for 1938 which provides tor for four regional laboratories at new orleans and peoria and in the vicinity of san francisco and philadelphia combat farm surpluses the research to be carried out at the new laboratories will attack 1 77 X R M gi al aioo modern devices help agriculture department officials in their dealings with producers above a county compliance worker uses an aerial map to study acreage allotments with a nebraska I 1 through science and technology the problems of developing new and extended outlets and markets tor for the main surplus agricultural commodities in the four major farm producing areas of the country to begin with the northern laboratory will study corn com wheat and agricultural wastes the southern laboratory cotton sweet potatoes and peanuts the eastern laboratory tobacco milk products apples potatoes and vegetables the western laboratory wheat potatoes alfalfa vegetables 4 ege tables and fruits other than apples the expansion of the research program in the field of new outlets for farm products is one of several main lines of attack upon farm problems in the coordinated co program of the department the ever normal granary plan whose purpose is to conserve soil fertility and prevent erosion relief tor for the most distressed farm people through the rehabilitation program aid in regulating the flow to market of many commodities through marketing agreements and orders and the removal of farm surpluses through relief distribution are some of the other important phases of the national program department of agriculture also has many other duties including the administration of more than 50 regulatory laws the food and drug administration is ing to administer the new food drug and cosmetic act which goes into effect next june the new act gives wider protection to the consumer and protects manufacturers from unscrupulous trade practices supervise meat packing among its regulatory duties is the supervision of the packers and stockyards stock yards act supervising the great commodity markets to iel restrain dishonest practices and excessive speculation it grades products for the wholesale and retail markets and defends the country against foreign insects and animal and plant pests none the less important are the duties of the weather bureau in forecasting floods storms frosts and weather in general protect protecting ing wild life if e conserving the soll soil the forests a and nd certain tasks task 3 relating ing t to 0 flood control through land treatment these and other means eans of correcting I 1 old abuse s in our land utilization method are comparatively recent developments development 3 the department but SO 50 years ago one small bureau employing a s small mall technical staff now has staff of about tr trained affied persons person a 0 western newspaper union |