THE ORIGINS OF AGRISCIENCE: OR WHERE DID ALL THAT SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE COME FROM?

Abstract

The Hatch Act was passed as part of the scientific revolution that occurred in agriculture during the late 1800s. What started as a need to have more accurate fertilizer analyses ended with a revolutionary federal act that started experiment stations. The preamble to the Act used the words agricultural science. Following passage o the Act agricultural education was defined as being primarily academic and having a strong scientific base. Higher education institutions emphasized a strong science content in teacher training curriculum. Secondary Congressional District agricultural schools also emphasized a great deal of science in their curricula. Federal leadership came from the United States Department of Agriculture with, among other things, scientific agricultural bulletins being regularly made available to agricultural education department. However, with passage of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917 agricultural education joined with other areas and became vocational in nature. National leadership shifted to the Federal Board for Vocational Education. Currently the agricultural education profession is debating how much science should be included in its curriculum. The profession’s history has a great deal to say about the subject and should be examined closely.