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Louis A. Ferleger argues why by the beginnings of the twentieth century the United States dominated agricultural production worldwide.

Image courtesy of interviewee. September 16, 2024

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The speaker has spent 40 years studying agriculture, emphasizing the significance of understanding the historical development of American agriculture, which made the U.S. the world's leading agricultural producer by 1920. He initially wrote articles on various aspects of this evolution and later compiled them into a book to advocate for recognizing the collaboration among government, businesses, farmers, and agricultural scientists that laid the groundwork for this success.

The transformation involved a critical relationship between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state experiment stations, focusing on both immediate agricultural needs and establishing long-term research infrastructures. The speaker notes the influence of the German agricultural model, which informed U.S. practices, particularly in specialization and comparative advantages based on regional strengths.

Key examples include efforts to address animal diseases and optimizing fertilizer use, highlighting the need for research with long-term implications rather than just immediate solutions. By investing in state-level research, the U.S. cultivated significant agricultural competence, allowing for adaptability to market demands.

Post-1920, the U.S. agriculture faced challenges like overproduction and the Great Depression but later stabilized through government subsidies. The lasting partnerships between government, businesses, and farmers fostered economic resilience and led to continued leadership in agricultural exports today, with U.S. food prices remaining lower relative to many other countries due to historical investments in agricultural research and development. The speaker hopes readers will appreciate this historical narrative upon reading his book.

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Here are five key points from the video:

1. **Historical Significance of U.S. Agriculture**: The speaker emphasizes the historical development of American agriculture over the past 40 years, highlighting how it evolved to become the world's leading producer by 1920 through government, business, and scientific collaboration.

2. **Investment in Agricultural Research**: The importance of investing in long-term agricultural research and infrastructure is a central theme. The speaker discusses how these investments have enabled the U.S. to adapt and respond effectively to agricultural challenges and opportunities.

3. **Influence of the German Model**: The speaker notes that the United States modeled its agricultural strategies on the success of Germany, particularly in identifying regions with specific agricultural strengths and focusing on those areas rather than trying to produce everything uniformly.

4. **Lessons from the Great Depression**: The video describes the impact of overproduction during the Great Depression on American farmers and how subsequent government subsidies helped stabilize agricultural markets, allowing farmers to adjust to changing demands.

5. **Current Agricultural Success and Global Convideo**: The speaker argues that the U.S. has maintained agricultural prosperity, spending a smaller percentage of disposable income on food compared to other countries. This success is attributed to a solid research infrastructure and long-term strategies, which have contributed to lower food prices in the U.S. compared to Europe and other parts of the world.

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Here are some key quotes from the video about American agriculture and its development over the years:

1. **"I've been studying agriculture for 40 years... how we became the world’s breadbasket by 1920."**
2. **"Agricultural scientists, government, and individuals worked together to create the conditions for the United States to become the world's leader in agricultural production."**
3. **"The key to the complete picture was... why in the United States... was it so critical to make investments in the way that it was made by the American agriculture infrastructure?"**
4. **"This relationship with the US Department of Agriculture and State Experiment stations was... important in the short run, but more critically create a long run infrastructure."**
5. **"The United States is a country where there's a lot of specialization... investing in crops which have multiple uses."**
6. **"German model was identifying areas of expertise where they had some comparative advantage in their production."**
7. **"He decided that every state should receive a $5,000 stipend from the US government to focus on research, which has long-term implications rather than short-term."**
8. **"By 1920, the US was producing agricultural products in almost every segment... competitive with every other nation in the world."**
9. **"The sustainable prosperity among business and farmers and the government was the hallmark of the success of the agricultural model."**
10. **"Americans spend a lower percentage of their income on food... food prices in the United States are a bargain."**

These quotes encapsulate the overall message of the video, which emphasizes the importance of collaboration, long-term investment, and specialization in the success of American agriculture.

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Here are some similar articles that reflect themes and concepts present in the video you :

1. **The Evolution of American Agriculture: A Historical Perspective**
This article discusses the transformations in American agriculture from the colonial period to the present. It examines key developments in practices, policies, and the role of various stakeholders including government and scientific communities.

2. **Partnerships in Agriculture: The Role of Government and Private Sector Collaboration**
This piece explores how collaborations between government agencies, businesses, and farmers have shaped modern agricultural practices, including case studies that illustrate successful partnerships.

3. **Lessons from Agricultural History: How Past Innovations Inform Current Practices**
This article highlights historical innovations in agriculture, such as the use of fertilizers and disease management, and draws parallels to modern agricultural research and adaptation strategies.

4. **The Impact of Research on Agricultural Productivity: A Focus on the U.S. Model**
This article delves into the importance of agricultural research conducted by institutions like the U.S. Department of Agriculture and how it has contributed to the competitiveness and adaptive capacity of U.S. agriculture.

5. **Navigating Agricultural Challenges: Historical Insights on Overproduction and Economic Resilience**
This article reviews the historical challenges faced by U.S. agriculture, including the Great Depression and overproduction, and discusses how policy and economic adjustments helped stabilize the sector.

6. **Agricultural Exports and Global Competitiveness: A Look at U.S. Leadership**
The article analyzes the historical factors that positioned the U.S. as a leading agricultural exporter and the role of continued investment in research and development in maintaining this status.

7. **Understanding Agricultural Specialization: The German Influence on U.S. Practices**
This exploration focuses on how German agricultural models and practices influenced U.S. agriculture, particularly regarding specialization and regional advantages in crop production.

8. **The Role of State Experiment Stations in Advancing Agricultural Science**
This article discusses the establishment and contributions of state experiment stations in the U.S., highlighting their role in addressing local agricultural challenges and supporting long-term scientific research.

These articles would provide additional insights and convideo related to the historical development and current state of American agriculture, resonating with the themes highlighted in the original video.

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

00:00.075 --> 00:02.245
Well, I've been studying agriculture for 40 years

00:02.665 --> 00:06.685
and, I, I had been trying to convince people

00:06.745 --> 00:08.685
for a long period of time to look at the history

00:08.685 --> 00:09.805
of American agriculture

00:09.805 --> 00:14.205
and how we became the world spread basket, by 1920.

00:14.945 --> 00:17.445
And I had written a series of individual articles,

00:18.345 --> 00:20.965
and I then decided that I could piece them together

00:21.065 --> 00:24.645
as a book, making a, trying to make a, an argument

00:24.645 --> 00:26.925
that people should pay attention to, that this was a sector

00:26.935 --> 00:31.045
where gov government business, and,

00:31.185 --> 00:32.285
and individuals

00:32.545 --> 00:34.565
and farmers in particular, as well

00:34.565 --> 00:36.845
as agricultural scientists, had worked together

00:36.905 --> 00:39.365
to create the conditions where it was possible

00:39.745 --> 00:42.965
for the United States to make investments in agriculture

00:43.425 --> 00:45.045
and, and seek and,

00:45.465 --> 00:48.805
and be successful in investing

00:49.385 --> 00:50.845
and creating a situation

00:50.845 --> 00:53.125
where the United States would become the world's leader in

00:53.125 --> 00:54.365
agricultural production.

00:55.345 --> 00:58.805
That's, that's the complicated question. I'm not sure.

00:59.735 --> 01:03.445
Every time I, every time I wrote one article, the one aspect

01:03.445 --> 01:05.325
of American agriculture, I realized

01:05.325 --> 01:07.445
that I had missed something, and I went back

01:07.445 --> 01:11.005
and I researched another aspect and I kept doing that.

01:11.425 --> 01:13.045
So I finally had a complete picture.

01:14.105 --> 01:16.645
And the key to the complete picture was, was why,

01:17.025 --> 01:18.525
why in the United States

01:18.705 --> 01:19.925
and earlier in Germany,

01:20.335 --> 01:24.805
which United States built its model on the German model,

01:26.325 --> 01:29.105
why was it so critical to make investments

01:31.115 --> 01:32.895
in the way that it was made

01:32.915 --> 01:34.935
by the American agriculture infrastructure?

01:35.835 --> 01:38.335
And I realized that this relationship with the US Department

01:38.335 --> 01:42.185
of Agriculture and State Experiment stations

01:42.845 --> 01:47.105
and national experiment stations was one where there these

01:48.375 --> 01:50.665
kind of investments could be made in a way in which

01:51.255 --> 01:53.025
they could be important in the short run,

01:53.085 --> 01:56.145
but more critically create a long run infrastructure in

01:56.145 --> 01:58.945
agriculture so the United States could respond quickly.

01:59.525 --> 02:02.625
And, for example, one example of that was,

02:02.765 --> 02:07.505
the situation to, to, to do different diseases

02:07.505 --> 02:09.345
that affected American animals.

02:09.445 --> 02:13.545
And the United States set up a national association

02:13.885 --> 02:16.385
to investigate the different diseases

02:16.385 --> 02:20.145
that hit either the Cotton Bowl, or,

02:21.885 --> 02:23.385
or, or farm animals.

02:24.125 --> 02:26.185
Um, and as they moved to

02:27.065 --> 02:28.625
investigating these different things, they put together

02:28.945 --> 02:31.785
national centers dividing the country into four pieces,

02:32.445 --> 02:34.745
and then little pieces adding up to the whole.

02:35.405 --> 02:36.865
So it's a complicated argument,

02:36.925 --> 02:40.585
but it's a very clear argument about, about creating

02:41.345 --> 02:44.225
capabilities in the agricultural sector to respond

02:44.225 --> 02:48.585
to different and varied conditions across the country.

02:48.685 --> 02:50.345
The United States is not a country

02:50.355 --> 02:52.945
where every state produces agricultural products.

02:53.605 --> 02:57.105
Um, it's a country where there's a lot of specialization

02:57.285 --> 02:58.985
and there's a lot of attempts

02:59.045 --> 03:03.285
To invest in, in crops which have multiple uses, such as

03:03.925 --> 03:06.685
soybeans, Germany, in a much smaller country, obviously,

03:06.955 --> 03:10.245
than the United States, divided different parts

03:10.245 --> 03:11.325
of the country into pieces.

03:11.985 --> 03:13.205
And the United States noticed this,

03:13.205 --> 03:16.485
that one region was focused on, for example, beet sugar.

03:17.235 --> 03:20.725
Another reason was focused on

03:20.725 --> 03:23.285
cotton meant corn.

03:24.265 --> 03:25.605
Um, and, and,

03:26.025 --> 03:29.725
and another was focused on animal husbandry.

03:30.425 --> 03:34.525
So what the German model was identifying areas

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of expertise where they had some comparative advantage

03:38.905 --> 03:41.525
in their production and expanding on those

03:41.625 --> 03:42.885
and not trying to do everything.

03:44.145 --> 03:48.685
Um, unlike other, other models of, of,

03:48.995 --> 03:51.765
agriculture, like the problem in Japan was they couldn't

03:51.985 --> 03:54.085
figure out a way to create

03:55.185 --> 03:59.805
the right conditions in order to produce as much product

03:59.905 --> 04:03.445
as possible for a country that didn't have the same set

04:03.445 --> 04:05.445
of conditions that were true in Germany.

04:06.065 --> 04:09.445
So these kind of investments in Germany, were looked at

04:09.445 --> 04:11.085
by the rest of the world differently.

04:11.265 --> 04:15.045
And at some point in the 1850s, 1860s,

04:16.045 --> 04:18.285
American agricultural scientists started going to Germany

04:18.945 --> 04:21.005
to see exactly what they were doing that made them

04:21.025 --> 04:22.685
so competitive and so successful,

04:23.465 --> 04:28.325
and they created these opportunities, in which, in,

04:28.325 --> 04:30.405
later in the United States, but then coming back

04:30.865 --> 04:32.605
and using aspects of the German model

04:32.635 --> 04:34.085
that they felt like was appropriate

04:34.085 --> 04:35.805
for the American situation.

04:36.405 --> 04:37.565
I can give you one example.

04:37.655 --> 04:42.085
After the Civil War, a lot of agriculture investment,

04:44.015 --> 04:47.605
which had been done prior to the Civil War,

04:47.605 --> 04:51.765
was focused on testing for one of the best fertilizers.

04:52.745 --> 04:57.565
Uh, Albert True, became head of the,

04:57.765 --> 04:58.885
OES,

04:59.265 --> 05:03.445
and as, as, which was the wing, which focused on research,

05:03.745 --> 05:06.405
in the US Department of Agriculture.

05:07.185 --> 05:09.365
And, and he noticed

05:09.395 --> 05:12.685
that there is way too much time spent on picking up the best

05:13.005 --> 05:14.325
fertilizer, and the differences

05:14.415 --> 05:16.725
among the fertilizers was minimal,

05:16.985 --> 05:19.645
but farmers cared a lot about that and important,

05:19.665 --> 05:23.085
but that wasn't really research that was just dealing

05:23.085 --> 05:26.405
with the temporary problem that I no long term implications.

05:26.985 --> 05:31.125
So he forced is probably too strong,

05:31.185 --> 05:33.285
but he was such a powerful figure.

05:33.795 --> 05:35.285
He's one of my heroes in the book.

05:35.465 --> 05:39.005
Um, he, he decided that every

05:39.935 --> 05:44.725
state should receive a $5,000 stipend from the US government

05:44.745 --> 05:46.045
to focus on research,

05:46.095 --> 05:48.205
which Hasn had long term implications

05:48.705 --> 05:49.805
rather than short term.

05:50.345 --> 05:53.045
And that's what I mean when I say research infrastructure.

05:53.505 --> 05:56.725
By giving every state $5,000, they could move slowly away

05:57.755 --> 05:59.885
from this model of focusing on just

05:59.885 --> 06:02.245
what the best fertilizer is for the particular

06:03.275 --> 06:05.725
soil conditions in one state, where it's another state

06:06.025 --> 06:07.725
to focus on long term problems.

06:07.745 --> 06:12.045
For example, how to figure out a, a way to meet the demand

06:12.065 --> 06:16.205
for, soybeans, which had,

06:16.205 --> 06:19.125
which was growing dramatically for how to meet demand

06:19.145 --> 06:21.925
for corn, which is growing irreparably as well,

06:22.655 --> 06:24.525
where were the best conditions for wheat.

06:25.145 --> 06:29.525
And as, as this money flowed from the US to US government,

06:29.525 --> 06:31.325
to the different states, they were able

06:31.325 --> 06:34.285
to focus particularly on what their expertise was

06:34.945 --> 06:37.925
rather than having to try to do everything particularly

06:38.545 --> 06:41.405
wasted research on, on fertilizers.

06:41.915 --> 06:44.925
It's not that the work on fertilizers was unimportant,

06:45.345 --> 06:46.965
but it was a temporary problem, not,

06:47.095 --> 06:48.965
which had short term implications.

06:49.035 --> 06:50.405
Whereas Alfred True

06:50.865 --> 06:55.525
and Secretary of Agricul Wilson wanted to focus on aspects

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of research, which would give them edge

06:58.345 --> 07:01.365
and edge in terms of,

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long term applications.

07:05.435 --> 07:06.645
Well, by 1920,

07:07.305 --> 07:10.565
the US was producing agriculture products in almost every

07:10.565 --> 07:14.285
segment of, of the country, which was competitive

07:14.285 --> 07:17.335
with every other nation in the world.

07:17.835 --> 07:21.895
Um, and by 19, so between 1880

07:22.395 --> 07:24.655
and between 1920, a 40 year period,

07:24.875 --> 07:27.975
United States not only adopted the German model,

07:28.075 --> 07:29.175
but that surpassed it.

07:30.075 --> 07:33.375
Now, Germany was looking to the United States to see why,

07:33.395 --> 07:36.215
why they, why the ones competitive and,

07:36.595 --> 07:41.465
and powerful agricultural nation was now second to

07:42.545 --> 07:46.505
a country which research first short term problems second.

07:47.245 --> 07:50.505
So, so that long term research takes a lot of time

07:50.505 --> 07:52.225
to germinate and develop.

07:52.285 --> 07:54.145
And in fact, it took

07:54.155 --> 07:57.505
after 1920, in every case as I as I stated,

07:58.535 --> 08:02.345
getting more and more successful, then came

08:02.345 --> 08:03.505
of course great depression.

08:03.965 --> 08:06.025
And, and our farmers were hit

08:06.825 --> 08:09.065
actually much earlier in the, in the 1920s.

08:10.485 --> 08:13.385
And they, they were, the problem was overproduction.

08:13.925 --> 08:15.665
So the United States was so successful, they,

08:15.665 --> 08:18.585
they're producing so many agricultural products

08:18.585 --> 08:21.745
that the price of the product was dropping dramatically,

08:21.745 --> 08:22.945
and farmers are going out of business.

08:24.125 --> 08:27.665
Um, then have the post-World War II period

08:27.755 --> 08:30.025
where craft sub cities are introduced

08:30.645 --> 08:34.025
and craft sub basically stabilize markets all across the

08:34.025 --> 08:35.985
United States in different products.

08:36.405 --> 08:39.065
And therefore, when demand went out for more corn,

08:39.085 --> 08:41.105
for example, they could adjust to that.

08:41.255 --> 08:43.505
Whereas the demand went out for more soybeans.

08:44.605 --> 08:48.025
Um, and similarly, similarly, cotton, cotton,

08:54.925 --> 08:55.165
cotton.

08:55.745 --> 08:58.925
And actually during World War ii, they discovered

08:58.925 --> 09:00.645
that they could make something called Dre.

09:01.945 --> 09:04.485
And all of a sudden the demand for DRE

09:04.705 --> 09:08.765
and other products from native kad increased dramatically,

09:08.765 --> 09:13.605
therefore resuscitating a agricultural

09:14.115 --> 09:15.845
sustainable prosperity in cotton,

09:15.845 --> 09:17.365
which had not been the case before.

09:18.385 --> 09:23.325
Um, so these kinds of investments really created what,

09:23.395 --> 09:25.805
what economic concerns like myself

09:25.805 --> 09:29.885
and Bill, call the developmental state,

09:30.535 --> 09:32.525
where the government works with business

09:32.905 --> 09:36.605
and with farmers, our scientists, in order to,

09:36.705 --> 09:38.805
to create sustainable prosperity.

09:40.085 --> 09:41.845
I think I demonstrate quite clearly

09:42.465 --> 09:45.845
the sustainable prosperity among business and farmers

09:46.025 --> 09:48.685
and the government was the hallmark of the success

09:48.685 --> 09:53.055
of the agricultural model that I argue, created

09:54.065 --> 09:56.845
organizational capability all across the sectors

09:56.845 --> 09:58.565
and all across the states and the United States.

09:59.225 --> 10:02.365
And it isn't, it isn't, a situation

10:02.365 --> 10:03.925
where much has changed in the future.

10:04.785 --> 10:06.565
Um, if you look, if you look at the history

10:07.105 --> 10:09.725
of our success in agriculture, it's one of the few areas

10:09.775 --> 10:12.365
where we still are the leader in exports

10:12.785 --> 10:15.405
and in fact, we could produce more if the rest of the world

10:16.685 --> 10:18.865
didn't put restrictions on our production in terms

10:18.865 --> 10:20.545
of terrorists and other things like that.

10:22.245 --> 10:24.545
We, we have created sustainable prosperity

10:25.245 --> 10:27.065
in agriculture in the United States.

10:27.605 --> 10:31.745
And United States, for example, spends seven to 8%

10:32.365 --> 10:35.985
of its of its disposable income individually.

10:35.985 --> 10:38.705
This is just an estimate, on food.

10:39.145 --> 10:42.025
Americans spend a lower percentage of food

10:42.025 --> 10:45.225
where in Europe is, it's anywhere from 20 to 30%.

10:45.975 --> 10:49.305
Sure enough to tell you that about London, where food,

10:49.305 --> 10:50.985
where I've been, where food is not cheap.

10:51.285 --> 10:56.105
Um, and, and it's very interesting.

10:56.105 --> 10:57.145
People take it for granted.

10:57.535 --> 10:59.225
They presume the food prices are high,

10:59.225 --> 11:01.705
but if you lived in Germany, if you lived in France,

11:01.765 --> 11:02.785
if you lived in Japan

11:03.885 --> 11:05.345
and other parts of the world, you would realize

11:05.585 --> 11:08.585
that food price in the United States are a bargain.

11:09.085 --> 11:11.385
And they're a bargain because the research infrastructure

11:11.565 --> 11:15.105
put into place over a long, long period of time,

11:15.785 --> 11:18.705
successively send away and made it.

11:18.775 --> 11:22.265
They made food prices in the United States considerably,

11:23.565 --> 11:25.585
lower than they are elsewhere.

11:26.485 --> 11:28.505
Um, and it's really hard, as you said,

11:29.765 --> 11:31.705
to maintain sustain prosperity.

11:32.085 --> 11:34.545
But in agricultural sector, it's been a success.

11:35.095 --> 11:37.265
It's that history that I hope people would,

11:37.675 --> 11:40.225
would read and understand.

11:40.845 --> 11:42.545
One, they read my book.

00:00 - Well, I've been studying agriculture for 40 years and, I, I had been trying to convince people for a long period of time to look at the history of American agriculture and how we became the world spread basket, by 1920. And I had written a series of individual articles,

00:18 - and I then decided that I could piece them together as a book, making a, trying to make a, an argument that people should pay attention to, that this was a sector where gov government business, and, and individuals and farmers in particular, as well as agricultural scientists, had worked together to create the conditions where it was possible for the United States to make investments in agriculture and, and seek and,

00:45 - and be successful in investing and creating a situation where the United States would become the world's leader in agricultural production. That's, that's the complicated question. I'm not sure. Every time I, every time I wrote one article, the one aspect of American agriculture, I realized that I had missed something, and I went back and I researched another aspect and I kept doing that. So I finally had a complete picture.

01:14 - And the key to the complete picture was, was why, why in the United States and earlier in Germany, which United States built its model on the German model, why was it so critical to make investments in the way that it was made by the American agriculture infrastructure? And I realized that this relationship with the US Department of Agriculture and State Experiment stations and national experiment stations was one where there these

01:48 - kind of investments could be made in a way in which they could be important in the short run, but more critically create a long run infrastructure in agriculture so the United States could respond quickly. And, for example, one example of that was, the situation to, to, to do different diseases that affected American animals. And the United States set up a national association to investigate the different diseases that hit either the Cotton Bowl, or,

02:21 - or, or farm animals. and as they moved to investigating these different things, they put together national centers dividing the country into four pieces, and then little pieces adding up to the whole. So it's a complicated argument, but it's a very clear argument about, about creating capabilities in the agricultural sector to respond to different and varied conditions across the country. The United States is not a country

02:50 - where every state produces agricultural products. it's a country where there's a lot of specialization and there's a lot of attempts To invest in, in crops which have multiple uses, such as soybeans, Germany, in a much smaller country, obviously, than the United States, divided different parts of the country into pieces. And the United States noticed this, that one region was focused on, for example, beet sugar. Another reason was focused on

03:20 - cotton meant corn. and, and, and another was focused on animal husbandry. So what the German model was identifying areas of expertise where they had some comparative advantage in their production and expanding on those and not trying to do everything. unlike other, other models of, of, agriculture, like the problem in Japan was they couldn't figure out a way to create

03:55 - the right conditions in order to produce as much product as possible for a country that didn't have the same set of conditions that were true in Germany. So these kind of investments in Germany, were looked at by the rest of the world differently. And at some point in the 1850s, 1860s, American agricultural scientists started going to Germany to see exactly what they were doing that made them so competitive and so successful, and they created these opportunities, in which, in,

04:28 - later in the United States, but then coming back and using aspects of the German model that they felt like was appropriate for the American situation. I can give you one example. After the Civil War, a lot of agriculture investment, which had been done prior to the Civil War, was focused on testing for one of the best fertilizers. Albert True, became head of the, OES,

04:59 - and as, as, which was the wing, which focused on research, in the US Department of Agriculture. And, and he noticed that there is way too much time spent on picking up the best fertilizer, and the differences among the fertilizers was minimal, but farmers cared a lot about that and important, but that wasn't really research that was just dealing with the temporary problem that I no long term implications. So he forced is probably too strong,

05:31 - but he was such a powerful figure. He's one of my heroes in the book. he, he decided that every state should receive a $5,000 stipend from the US government to focus on research, which Hasn had long term implications rather than short term. And that's what I mean when I say research infrastructure. By giving every state $5,000, they could move slowly away from this model of focusing on just

05:59 - what the best fertilizer is for the particular soil conditions in one state, where it's another state to focus on long term problems. For example, how to figure out a, a way to meet the demand for, soybeans, which had, which was growing dramatically for how to meet demand for corn, which is growing irreparably as well, where were the best conditions for wheat. And as, as this money flowed from the US to US government, to the different states, they were able

06:31 - to focus particularly on what their expertise was rather than having to try to do everything particularly wasted research on, on fertilizers. It's not that the work on fertilizers was unimportant, but it was a temporary problem, not, which had short term implications. Whereas Alfred True and Secretary of Agricul Wilson wanted to focus on aspects of research, which would give them edge and edge in terms of,

07:03 - long term applications. Well, by 1920, the US was producing agriculture products in almost every segment of, of the country, which was competitive with every other nation in the world. and by 19, so between 1880 and between 1920, a 40 year period, United States not only adopted the German model, but that surpassed it. Now, Germany was looking to the United States to see why,

07:33 - why they, why the ones competitive and, and powerful agricultural nation was now second to a country which research first short term problems second. So, so that long term research takes a lot of time to germinate and develop. And in fact, it took after 1920, in every case as I as I stated, getting more and more successful, then came of course great depression. And, and our farmers were hit

08:06 - actually much earlier in the, in the 1920s. And they, they were, the problem was overproduction. So the United States was so successful, they, they're producing so many agricultural products that the price of the product was dropping dramatically, and farmers are going out of business. then have the post-World War II period where craft sub cities are introduced and craft sub basically stabilize markets all across the United States in different products.

08:36 - And therefore, when demand went out for more corn, for example, they could adjust to that. Whereas the demand went out for more soybeans. and similarly, similarly, cotton, cotton, cotton. And actually during World War ii, they discovered that they could make something called Dre. And all of a sudden the demand for DRE and other products from native kad increased dramatically, therefore resuscitating a agricultural

09:14 - sustainable prosperity in cotton, which had not been the case before. so these kinds of investments really created what, what economic concerns like myself and Bill, call the developmental state, where the government works with business and with farmers, our scientists, in order to, to create sustainable prosperity. I think I demonstrate quite clearly the sustainable prosperity among business and farmers

09:46 - and the government was the hallmark of the success of the agricultural model that I argue, created organizational capability all across the sectors and all across the states and the United States. And it isn't, it isn't, a situation where much has changed in the future. if you look, if you look at the history of our success in agriculture, it's one of the few areas where we still are the leader in exports and in fact, we could produce more if the rest of the world

10:16 - didn't put restrictions on our production in terms of terrorists and other things like that. We, we have created sustainable prosperity in agriculture in the United States. And United States, for example, spends seven to 8% of its of its disposable income individually. This is just an estimate, on food. Americans spend a lower percentage of food where in Europe is, it's anywhere from 20 to 30%. Sure enough to tell you that about London, where food,

10:49 - where I've been, where food is not cheap. and, and it's very interesting. People take it for granted. They presume the food prices are high, but if you lived in Germany, if you lived in France, if you lived in Japan and other parts of the world, you would realize that food price in the United States are a bargain. And they're a bargain because the research infrastructure put into place over a long, long period of time,

11:15 - successively send away and made it. They made food prices in the United States considerably, lower than they are elsewhere. and it's really hard, as you said, to maintain sustain prosperity. But in agricultural sector, it's been a success. It's that history that I hope people would, would read and understand. One, they read my book.

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