Agriculture History Stories

To commemorate the 75th birthday of Corn+Soybean Digest magazine, Editor-in-Chief Kurt Lawton paged through dusty bound magazine volumes to provide a glimpse of what farmers were dealing with during each decade.

CSD75: Soybean Digest – The 2000s Part I | Farm Progress

As part of our 75th birthday, we look back at interesting editorial stories during each decade.

We begin this snapshot of the 2000s – the seventh decade of Soybean Digest – by examining one year of back issues from January through December 2005.

The 2000 decade began with a continued historical cycle of low prices, supplemented by higher government safety net and emergency support. As the decade progressed, technology such as autosteer and sectional sprayer boom and planter row control took of

CSD75: Soybean Digest – The 1990s Part I | Farm Progress

In the first half of the 1990s decade, the U.S. economy started in a recession then began recovering in 1992. The financial industry suffered with numerous savings institutions, as well as some banks and insurance companies, either collapsed or fell into such dire straits that the federal government had to take them over.

From an agricultural perspective, global trade, environmental concerns, safe/efficient food and economic viability characterized the 1990s.

With the collapse of Communism, th

CSD75: Soybean Digest – The 1990s Part II | Farm Progress

We begin this snapshot of the 1990s – the sixth decade of Soybean Digest – by examining one year of back issues from January through December 1995.

In the second half of the 1990s decade, credit market issues continued to linger, but other industries like computers, the dot-com phenomenon, aerospace and export industries all showed continued growth.

In 1996, net farm income reached a record $54.9 billion and ag exports set a record at $60.4 billion. That year, the Federal Agriculture Improveme

CSD75: Soybean Digest – The 1980s, part I | Farm Progress

We begin this snapshot of the 1980s – the fifth decade of Soybean Digest – by examining back issues from January through December 1985.

The early 1980s saw a farm recession where the financial crisis affected many Midwest farmers with heavy debt loads. Tight money policies by the Federal Reserve (intended to bring down high interest rates upwards of 21%) caused farmland value to drop 60% in some parts of the Midwest from 1981 to 1985. Record production resulted in a glut of farm commodities, fo

CSD75: Soybean Digest – The 1980s, Part 2 | Farm Progress

The second half of the 1980s saw farmers slowly beginning to recover, as farmland values began bottoming out in 1987. Drought hit the stage big time in 1986 in the southeastern U.S., then across much of the Midwest in 1988.

Farm technology continued to improve efficiency. For example in 1987, it took only 2.75 labor-hours to produce 100 bushels of corn (1-1/8th acre) with a tractor, 5-bottom plow, 20-ft. tandem disk, planter, 20-ft. sprayer, 12-ft. self-propelled combine and trucks.

U.S. agric

CSD75: Soybean Digest – The 1970s | Farm Progress

We begin this snapshot of the 1970s – the fourth decade of Soybean Digest – by examining back issues from November 1974 through October 1975.

Agriculture and farm life in the 1970s saw huge change, prosperity, inflation, loss of price supports, rising land rates – all leading into the farm crisis of the late-1970s into the 1980s. Among the historic milestones:
• None In 1970 there were 2.7 million farms; average size was 390 acres. Farm population was 9.7 million, compared to U.S. population of

CSD75: Soybean Digest – The 1970s, part 2 | Farm Progress

In this second half of the 1970s snapshot of Soybean Digest, we find farmers concerned about soybean embargoes and weed control and learn their marketing and competition strategies, amonth other agronomic practices. Here are some key tidbits:
• None In 1975 it took 3.3 labor-hours to produce 100 bushels (1-1/8 acres) of corn with a tractor, 5-bottom plow, 20-ft tandem disk, planter, 20-ft. sprayer, 12-ft. combine and trucks.
• None In 1975, the American Soybean Association Market Development Fou

CSD75: Soybean Digest – The 1960s | Farm Progress

We begin this snapshot of the 1960s – the third decade of Soybean Digest – by examining back issues from November 1964 through September 1965.

The 1960s saw a doubling of soybean acres from the previous decade (4.3 million acres versus 2.2 million) and average yields moved higher by 5 bushels (28.8 versus 23.5). Corn in 1960 averaged almost 55 bushels per acre on 71.4 million acres (down 10 million acres from 1950.) The first 4-billion-bushel crop happened in 1963, harvested on 59.2 million acr

#CSD75: Soybean Digest – The 1950s | Farm Progress

In the 1950s, the second decade of Soybean Digest magazine, average yields were hovering around 20 bu./acre, but contest winners hit 63 bushels! Soybean acres continued to climb (19.3 million acres in 1954), yet farmers were dealing with big surpluses of all crops by mid-decade. Passage of Public Law 480, Food for Peace program, in 1954 helped fund market development that stimulated exports of soy products. By 1955, Japan had become America's largest single customer for soybeans and soybean prod

CSD75: Soybean Digest: The 1940s | Farm Progress

In the 1940s, the first decade of “Soybean Digest” magazine, soybean acres expanded dramatically, leaving behind its image as a small forage crop. USDA publicity in the 1930s helped increase familiarity of the soybean, yet most were grown to be consumed by cattle (in the field or as hay/silage) in the early days. However, the combination of thousands of new varieties from the Far East, along with the launch of the combine harvester and growing demand for meal and oil, all helped set the table fo