Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/67288
PILLARS of agriculture A tier, rifle in one hand, guiding the plow with the other, spouse and children all pitching in to convert the hostile landscape into productive fields that now feed not only themselves but all Americans, abundantly, with plenty left over to feed others. The other image is less sweaty or romantic. Farmers are skillful combiners of intelli- Key laws that support American- style agriculture celebrate 150-year birthdays. by Richard Lehnert gence, good fortune, and hard work, better educated by far than their peers in other times and other places, blessed by access to inexpensive land, users of science, quick adopters of machines and other technology that increase the value of their labor and create a lifestyle that is interesting, profitable, rewarding, and something to be proud of. They are not peasants; they are solidly middle class. This year, American farmers will observe the 150th anniversary of two key "pillars of public support" that continue to shape them and the indus- try they enjoy. There are four such foundation posts that underpin Ameri- can agriculture, all developed in a 50-year period that began 150 years ago. The four pillars—four acts of Congress—are the Homestead Act of 1862, the Morrill Act of 1862, the Hatch Act of 1887, and the Smith-Lever Act of 1914. Given the wrangling in Congress in recent years, it is worth observing that Congress can have moments of genius in which it creates seminal laws. Some of these laid the foundations for American agricultural excellence and made it a model for the world. Sure, American farmers pull themselves up by the bootstraps, but they enjoy enormous public support. Two key acts Two of these acts of Congress were passed in 1862, two months apart. One of them, the Morrill Act, passed Congress on July 2 and created the land-grant university system. It brought advanced education, and the resources associated with it, to farmers, making M Thomas Vogelmann LAND-GRANT PRIDE in Vermont any land-grant university campuses have a landmark building called Morrill Hall. There are Morrill Halls in New York, Tennessee, Nebraska, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Michigan, and elsewhere. But the one in which Thomas Vogelmann has his office is special. It's the one on the campus of the University of Ver- mont, the land-grant university in the home state of the person it's named for and whose legislation created these land-grant universities. Like all Morrill Halls, it's named for Vermont Congressman Justin Morrill, who gives his name to the Morrill Act of 1862. Vogelmann is dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the university where he became professor of plant biology in 2002, returning to his native state after 18 years at the University of Wyoming. He'll be the dean when the Morrill Act celebrates its 150th anniversary in July. "Justin Morrill would be proud," Vogelmann says. "And we here in Vermont feel a sense of pride in what he accomplished as well. The land-grant system has had a very, very successful run." The land-grant system Morrill envisioned is a good reflection of the basic character of the people of Vermont, Vogelmann said. While known for their rugged independence as they farm "the rolling green hills with a lot of rocks," the idea of working together to improve the quality of life in the overall agricultural community, and the nation as a whole, is also strong. In recent years, Vermont has been a leader in the local foods movement, which attempts to build strong, local agricultural economies. 8 JUNE 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER At the university this summer, students in the Honors College will be conducting sym- posia that recall the history and contributions of the land-grant universities, Vogelmann said. Deans and administrators of the various colleges at the University of Vermont will also be meeting and discussing, because, in October, the university will host academics from across the country to contemplate the future of the land-grants. The transfer of knowledge from academia to farmer through the land-grant college system is unique in the world, Vogelmann said. And American agriculture, as a result, has been exceptional as well. Vogelmann is confident that the Morrill Act and the land-grant university system—and its unique knowledge delivery structure, the Cooperative Extension Service—has a place in the future. One piece of proof is that the students believe it. Student numbers in the dean's agri- cultural college have grown from 850 to more than 1,200 in the last six years. "Agriculture is cool these days to the younger generation," Vogelmann said. "Young people today are intensely interested in food and nutrition, and not in just agricultural production—but in agricultural communities in general." Vermont has been intent on saving its agricultural heritage, despite the hills and rocks, and it's been a hotbed of activity in local food production and sustainability. There is a strong "buy local, buy Vermont" program that is part of the state's Agency of Agriculture, and Web sites identify CSAs, farmers' markets, farmstands, and sources of Vermont artisan food products. Vogelmann notes that driving forces behind the Morrill Act were sustainability issues of that day, especially soil erosion and depletion and fertility, as well concerns about the strength of the American nation as a food producer. With world population now five times what it was in 1862, the challenge of food production in the future is greater than ever. —R. Lehnert www.goodfruit.com Morrill Halls appear on many land-grant university campuses, taking their name from the man who sponsored the legislation creating them 150 years ago this year. them increasingly well-educated and scientific in outlook and reducing the role of folklore and tradition in farming practice. When amended to bring the land-grant philosophy to historically black universities (in 1890) and native Ameri- cans (in 1994), it created 106 American universities devoted to the advancement of agriculture and the mechanical arts—and to the elevation of the people who practice them. The Homestead Act was signed two months earlier, on May 20, 1862, and had profound impact. That law opened up the West to settlement by ordinary people, giving all the land from the Great Lakes west virtually free to any- body who claimed 160 acres of it and physically worked to make it the family homestead. That law broke the back of a long tradition in which people who had land were rulers or aristocrats favored by merican farmers can call up images from two very different historical threads when describing themselves. Farmers are rugged individualists, pioneers who tackled the unfriendly fron-