1798 : Farmer and homesteader -- 1813 : Farmer and solider -- 1815 : Logger and whiskey maker -- 1858 : Lady of the plantation -- 1880 : Norwegian farmers -- 1885 : German tobacco farmers -- 1888 : Texas cattle rancher -- 1892 : Danish farmer and miller -- 1892 : Sweet potato farmers -- 1898 : Crafter of plow handles -- 1904 : Potato farmer -- 1916 : Son of a Missouri tobacco farmer -- 1919 : Dude rancher -- 1926 : Sugar farmer -- 1927 : Farming family -- 1933 : Leader of a farm revolt -- 1934 : 13-year-old daughter of farming family -- 1935 : Sharecroppers who fled the South -- 1940 : Cattle wrangler -- 1957 : Cotton broker -- 1966 : Mexican farmhand -- 1978 : Orange juice company executive -- 1988 : Logger -- 1994 : Large scale farmer -- 1998 : Switchgrass farmer -- 2003 : Cattle rancher -- 2008 : Dairy farmer's daughter -- 2011 : Salvadorian ranch hand -- 2015 : Genetic scientist -- 2020 : Organic soybean farmer -- Census of agriculture.
Summary:
From family farms to big agriculture, organic farming to hydroponics, this volume covers what life was and is like for American farmers & ranchers across the decades. Profiles cover the span of the entire country, providing a thorough examination of the lives of all types of Americans in this business. Some of the farmers and ranchers covered in this volume include: 1904 - Mary Wiggington: a potato farmer in Washington state. Members of her family have belonged to the Grange, the fraternal agricultural organization, since its founding in 1867. In recent years, the organization's popularity has declined due to poor management and fiscal difficulties, but Mary tries to increase membership with a hard-fought local campaign. 1940 - Thomas Jefferson Cameron: an African American cattle wrangler (cowboy) who works at a ranch in Oklahoma. With the development of more modern cattle trucks as well as a shift to ranches selling their products to more local markets, he worries that his skills leading cattle drives will no longer be in demand. 1994 - Lamar Beauregard: a Texas man who owns a huge farm that produces corn and other grains. He is excited by the passage of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Association) because it removes trade tariffs between the U.S. and Mexico and allows him to competitively sell his products to Mexico. 2011 - Ramon Gutierrez: a Salvadorian ranch hand living in Georgia. Ramon fled his native El Salvador because of gang violence, settling in Georgia as an undocumented immigrant. Although he found work as a ranch hand, after the passage of Georgia's anti-immigration HB 87, he is worried that he may not be able to continue his job. 2020 - Jason Rourke: a small organic soybean farmer in Illinois. Jason has become increasingly alarmed about the threat of climate change in recent years and has taken steps in his farming to lessen his impact on global warming.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.