History of Agriculture: Farming Through the Ages

Advancing technology has been the biggest influence on farming through the history of agriculture.

Not only does farming provide us food, but it also supplies materials to other industries, like cotton for textiles, making it an essential component of the economy.

But agriculture as we know it wasn’t always such a central part of life.

In fact, there was time where we roamed around looking for food, rather than growing it one place. At this point, we had very few tools at our disposal.

Now, our tech is so advanced, we can grow crops in space!

In this article, you’ll learn about the history of agriculture, including how farming started and transformed into what it is today.

Ancient Agriculture

Long before Ancient Egypt ever existed, early humans hunted prey and gathered edible plants, never settling in one place for too long.

But about 12,000 years ago, in what historians refer to as the Fertile Crescent (modern day Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and more), farming was born.

Farming marked the beginning of permanent settlements, replacing the nomadic hunter-gatherer model.

It changed human life so much that we’ve since labelled it the Neolithic Revolution.

The earliest known cultivated crops include wild ancestors of wheat, barley, and peas.

At around the same time, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs became the first animals to be domesticated.

As farming spread and developed over the years, more and more varieties of crops were grown.

For example, China began growing rice as far back as 6000 BCE, with evidence to suggest they’d already developed methods to control fire and flood.

Plus, 5,000 to 10,000 years ago, way before Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean, early North Americans were cultivating squash, corn, and sunflowers.

Irrigation practices are estimated to have developed sometime between 6000 and 5000 BCE in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The first irrigation methods involved underground channels called qanats.

But canals were created not too long after, channeling water from the Nile River to fields of crops.

Antiquated Agriculture

A couple thousand years later, during the Bronze Age, we developed advanced metalworking techniques, which allowed us to make better tools.

For example, bronze axes and bronze plows allowed farmers to clear and prepare larger areas for farming than those made from stone and wood.

As we entered the middle ages, we started creating dams, reservoirs, and water raising machines, resulting in complex irrigation systems.

Farming saw some of it’s biggest inventions in the 19th century.

The British Agriculture Revolution, which occurred between 1750 and 1850, popularized farming practices we still use today, like crop rotation, land reclamation, and woodland clearing.

During this time, farmers also replaced lower yielding crops, like rye, with higher yielding ones, like barley.

Before this time, standard agriculture practices could not keep up with rapid population growth, so it would come to a stop.

But the British Agriculture Revolution allowed for higher crop production that was able to sustain the growing population.

The same century saw many other revolutionary farming inventions.

For example, reapers, machines that cut and gather grains, were invented in the 1830s.

It was also when chemical pesticides were first successfully used on large commercial farms.

Plus, gasoline powered tractors were invented in Iowa in 1892, replacing the horse-pulled machines that were used before.

Advanced Agriculture

The next biggest change to the agriculture industry included hybridization, especially of corn.

In the early 1900s, hybrid corn was favored over its natural counterpart because of its significantly higher yields.

When farms were able to produce more corn, it could be sold for less, making it more accessible to the masses.

Hybrid corn is created from breeding two different varieties of corn. This results in varieties with certain superior characteristics from both original varieties.

Unlike lab-created genetically modified organisms (GMOs), hybrid crops are created through natural processes.

We still eat hybrids today!

Some crops still commonly produced as hybrids include cucumbers, peppers and onions.

In addition to seed modifications, the 20th Century saw the fastest development of agricultural technology in history.

For example, machines, such as grain combines and tractors, were modified to be more efficient and powerful. And airplanes allowed farmers to aerially distribute seeds, pesticides and fertilizers.

Farming has changed a lot through history, and it continues to change today.

With recent concerns about the sustainability of traditional farming practices, we’ve already seen major advancements in environmentally friendly agriculture.

Trends today focus on locally grown produce, organic or chemical-free produce and farm-to-table practices.

All of which promote healthy eating and living.

Our irrigation systems are changing too.

With droughts placing focus on water conservation, places like Israel are dreaming up revolutionary ways to make the most of limited water supply.

With the country being 60% desert and 40% arid, Israel has developed massive water management practices, such as cleaning and reusing waste water for farming.

It’s also the birthplace of modern drip irrigation practices, which drips water onto individual plants rather than flooding entire fields. It provides greater yields and healthier crops.

Today, technology is advancing faster than ever.

To learn more about the future of farming, visit our website or call 602–753–3469.