Post WWII

Following World War II, agricultural leaders across the country began to redefine agriculture as “agribusiness,” an acknowledgement of agriculture as a modern industry.[1] Rather than understanding agriculture as only the farmers that produced crops and livestock, the new concept of agriculture encompassed all stages of production related to agricultural products, including: those who directly produced agricultural products; those who made the production of agricultural products possible, such as chemical and equipment companies; and those who processed, marketed and purchased agricultural products.[2] After World War II, the industrialization of agriculture through scientific research and mechanization began to spread. In the mid-1950s, David S. Weaver wrote, “The well-trained farmer—able to make important decisions, equipped with farm machinery and other income producing items—will continue to be prosperous. Our greatest problem lies in the small farmer unable to take advantage of much of the technology available for his use…. Unfortunately, some will fall by the wayside.”[3] The new conceptualization of agriculture corresponded with the belated realization that as agricultural efficiency increased, the number of those involved in traditional agriculture decreased. The concept of “agribusiness” ensured that a large portion of the population would still be involved in agricultural pursuits, even if not in the traditional sense.



[1] “Farm Mechanization in North Carolina,” Series 1, Box 1, Folder 17, MC 00026, David Stathem Weaver Papers, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/mc00026-001-bx0001-017-000

[2] “Agricultural Technology Curriculum, 1959,” 1959, Series 2, Box 10, Folder 8, UA100.016, North Carolina State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Crop Science Records, 1939 – 1989,  Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC. http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/ua100_016-002-bx0010-008-000

[3] “Farm Mechanization in North Carolina,” Series 1, Box 1, Folder 17, MC 00026, David Stathem Weaver Papers, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/mc00026-001-bx0001-017-000