The Mechanization of Farming: A Timeline

Agriculture has been one of the major pillars of American society for decades and like most things it has gone through copious amounts of change and transformation. Things like urbanization, industry, and war, all served as major catalysts for these frequent changes within the agriculture sector. An era that encompassed all three of these stimulants occurred during the years 1910-1940. This thirty year span represents one of the most active periods of agricultural revolution seen in American history.

This period is credited with such a legacy because it was here farming methods and tools began to become mechanized. Mechanization began when previous human or animal labor was replaced with mecheniary, but it truly ignited when these new machines became gasoline and oil powered. Every sector of agriculture benefited from these new gasoline engines, they were not only a more efficient means of production but they were cheaper as well. 

The transition from human or animal power to gasoline power did not happen overnight nor out of the blue. Many evolutions and subsequent adaptations occurring over several years facilitated this famous era of revolution.