Chronological history by decade from |
History of Research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Research Service
Blue=USDA research accomplishment Click on "more" to view related stories The first USDA administration building in Washington, D.C., was completed in 1867. Farms with hog cholera were quarantined.
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1860 and before 1833 1843 1860 1861 Proved that Phytophthora infestans caused Irish potato famine. 1862 Morrill Land-Grant College Act authorized public land grants for colleges to teach agriculture and mechanic arts.(more) First man-made plastic invented. First USDA research bulletin issued, on sugar content of several varieties of grapes and their suitability for wine. Homestead Act passed. Library of the USDA established. 1863 Dry farming, as type of commercial agriculture, began in Utah. 1864 Deficiency Act provided first statutory provision for employment of women. 1865 1866 1867 First patent issued for barbed-wire fencing. 1868 Refrigerator railroad car patented. USDA began research on animal diseases.(more) 1869 Gypsy moth accidentally brought into the U.S. from France; established in Medford, MA. (more) Suez Canal opened. First practical spring-toothed harrow patented; eliminated breaking teeth on roots and stones. Dmitry Mendeleyev published the organizational groundwork for the periodic table of elements. First analysis of food published in the U.S., for corn.(more) |
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