Early Efforts

Item #33183. "Rural Housing Survey Results, 1938-1940."

Item #33184. Rural Home Electrification Project- Guilford County.

Although agricultural leaders in North Carolina had hopes for industrialization and mechanization at the turn of the century, research and extension in these areas were limited until World War II. Agricultural research was hindered by lack of basic farm necessities like adequate housing, electricity, and indoor plumbing, without which many advanced agricultural techniques were impossible to implement.[1] Furthermore, the topography of North Carolina, the abundance of small farms, and the diversity in North Carolina agriculture made the use of farm machinery difficult to implement in a large scale.[2]

Scientific research from the university was more accessible than agricultural mechanization at first. This research focused on soil science, entomology, and plant pathology, as well as the development of crop varieties specifically bred to succeed in North Carolina conditions. Knowledge about crop production was more easily implemented than the adoption of agricultural machinery, as seen in the image, which depicts farmers spraying newly researched pesticides at a peach orchard with the help of draft power rather than mechanized power.[3]

Despite the difficulties implementing farm machinery, many extension publications at this time focused on the benefits of “power farming,” such as the use of tractors and combines, over the continued use of draft power on farms.[4] The university, however, was aware of the inability of most North Carolina farmers at the time to adopt mechanization, and also published articles on how to improve crop production using horse and mule power.[5] NC State also continued research on mechanized techniques that used draft power.[6] One notable example, the sweet potato “vine-row harvester,” was developed in 1947 and was pulled by two mules.[7] This development helped many small sweet potato farms increase their income.

Item #33182: "Peanut Production in North Carolina."

The demand for peanut oil during World War II created increased interest in more efficient peanut production in North Carolina.[8] Scientific research at an Agricultural Experiment Station in the Eastern part of the state helped to identify and eradicate peanut diseases, increase production through improved cultural techniques, and create new varieties better suited for North Carolina soils and climate.[9] Shortly after, the university began researching mechanization of peanut harvesting and processing. Research in both science and mechanization continued into the early 1980s, and helped establish North Carolina as the 5^th highest peanut producing state in the nation.

The successful effort to increase peanut production during World War II set a model for agricultural research at NC State that was adapted in the postwar years to improve the production of other crops. NC State first began scientific research on a crop, and shortly afterwards, they began research into mechanization. The number of mechanized farms began to increase just following the war, but in response, a large wave of rural inhabitants began to leave the farm.