The 'Wheat of Nations'

I think by far, innovations the occurred in the 20th century are among my favorites. I think that’s because it’s easier to quantify their impact and typically their results are seen on a global scale in a relatively short amount of time. One such example of 20th century innovation that changed the world occurred in agriculture.

In 1900 farmers made up 38 percent of the U.S. labor force; by the end of the century they represented less than 3 percent. With machines doing most of the work, millions of farmers and farm laborers had to look elsewhere for a living—a displacement that helped fuel booms in the manufacturing and service industries, especially after World War II. It also fueled a dramatic shift in the entire culture, as metropolitan and suburban America began to replace the rural way of life. Source.


I think it’s amazing how because of the development of the mechanization of agriculture has fundamentally changed how humanity works. In the Bible God tells Adam, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake…In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” Genesis 3:19. Mankind has spent most of his life farming to obtain his bread. Due to the specialization of labor that the mechanization of agriculture allowed, less than 3% of US work force grow the food, leaving the other 97% of the population is free follow other productive pursuits that will allow them to buy their food. Adam Smith would have loved this!

I wanted to talk real fast about two important 20th century agricultural innovations that have significantly changed the face and productivity of agriculture:

The Tractor

The follow clip shows the history/development of the tractor:


Tractors were the all-purpose work horse that allowed for huge advances in productivity per worker. Tractors greatly increased productivity, reduced labor costs, and transformed the ways farmers could till, plant, and harvest.

Center pivot irrigation machine

In 1948, Colorado farmer, Frank Zybach, invented the center pivot irrigation machine, which revolutionized irrigation technology. The system consists of sprinklers attached to arms that radiate from a water-filled hub out to motorized wheeled towers in the field.

This video shows how it works



With the development of Zybach’s system, along with other mechanized systems, irrigated acreage in the United States has almost quadrupled since 1900. That's four-times more productive farm land!

Agricultural mechanization continues to have a huge impact in our day as world populations keep increasing. The mechanization of agriculture has allowed the specialization of labor to occur not only between individuals, but between entire countries as well.