What are the main periods of agricultural development in the United States?

Our research should be combined with social reality, and now we still refer to an article by the Ministry of Finance-"The Present Situation of Agricultural Development in the United States"

First, the characteristics of American agricultural development

The land area of the United States is 9.37 million square kilometers, and the cultivated land area of the United States accounts for about 20% of the total land area, which is 188 17000 hectares, and the per capita is close to 0.6 hectares. In 20 12, the agricultural population in the United States accounted for about 2% of the total population. The United States is rich in natural resources, which provides unique conditions for the development of agriculture: most parts of the United States have abundant rainfall and uniform distribution, with an average annual rainfall of 760 mm; Land, grassland and forest resources are in the forefront of the world, and the soil is fertile. The plains below 500 meters above sea level account for 55% of the country's land area, which is conducive to mechanized farming and scale management of agriculture. In 20 12, the total grain output of the United States was 363 million tons, and the per capita share was 1 160 kg. The United States has a huge grain reserve, and the grain carry-over inventory ranks first in the world, which is roughly close to 1/3 of the world's total inventory in recent years. The United States pays equal attention to animal husbandry and planting. In 20 12 of the total agricultural output value of the United States, planting accounted for 52% and animal husbandry accounted for 48%. American livestock products occupy a huge share in the world. In 20 12, the sales volume of livestock products in the United States ranked 1 in the world, of which beef accounted for 2 1%, milk for 18% and eggs for 12%. The mode of production and productivity of American agriculture is the most developed in the world. This is due to its unique agricultural resource endowment, which is closely related to the competitive mode of production formed by the organizational structure and management mechanism of agriculture and related industries after a hundred years of historical evolution and market competition. The main characteristics of American agriculture are as follows:

First, agricultural laws and regulations and supporting systems are improved. As an immigrant country, the United States has only a history of more than 200 years, but when its Ministry of Agriculture was founded in 1862, it was clearly stated that "agriculture is the foundation of manufacturing and commerce". With the development of industry, the proportion of agriculture in the American economy has gradually declined, but the government has adopted the policy of supporting and protecting agriculture, making agriculture the most competitive industry in the world. American comprehensive agricultural support policy originated from Roosevelt's New Deal in 1930s. After decades of strengthening and development, a huge agricultural policy system has been formed, covering resource protection, agricultural science and technology development, agricultural price and income support, agricultural credit, agricultural taxation, foreign trade of agricultural products and so on. However, agricultural subsidies have always been the core of agricultural policies, which have played an important role in promoting agricultural development and improving agricultural competitiveness in the United States.

The second is based on small family farms. 1826, the United States promulgated the Homestead Act, which laid the foundation for family farms. American farmers are family farms, and there are fewer and fewer company farms. According to statistics, in 2007, there were 96,000 company farms, 0/0.74 million cooperative farms and 0/0.9 million family farms in China. By 20 10, there will be about 2.2 million farms in the United States, covering 920 million acres, with an average of 4 18 acres per farm. Among the more than 2.2 million farms in the United States, there are about 3.5 million agricultural laborers, and the rest are children and the elderly. Each farmer manages an average of 400 mu of land, about 2400 mu. The average labor force of each farm is 1.6. In 20 10, 88% of the farms in the United States with incomes over 10 million dollars were family farms, and the agricultural products produced accounted for 79% of the agricultural output in the United States.

Third, agricultural production has a high degree of specialization. The United States makes full use of natural conditions in different regions, and through scientific differentiation, agricultural production has realized the specialization of regional production and formed some famous production belts, such as corn belt, wheat belt and cotton belt. As early as 19 14, American agriculture has realized planting specialization to a great extent, and this pattern has been maintained to this day. This regional division of labor enables all regions in the United States to give full play to their comparative advantages, which is conducive to reducing costs and improving productivity. The establishment of a smooth land and water transportation network has further promoted regional division of labor and specialized production, which has also effectively promoted the rapid development of related industries in nearby areas.

Fourth, agricultural production is highly mechanized. As early as the 1940s, the United States was the first country in the world to realize the mechanization of grain production. In the late 1960s, the mechanization level of grain production was further improved, reaching the mechanization of the whole process from ploughing, soil preparation, sowing, field management, harvesting and drying. In the early 1970s, cash crops such as cotton and sugar beet were fully mechanized from planting to harvesting. At present, it still maintains the world advanced level in planting, factory livestock and poultry breeding, facility agriculture and agricultural product processing. At present, the production and scientific research departments of agricultural machinery in the United States are studying and popularizing the application of satellite communication, remote sensing technology, electronic computer and other high-tech technologies to tractors and other agricultural machinery, so as to realize unmanned driving, automatic operation and automatic monitoring of tractors and other agricultural machinery, so that all kinds of agricultural mechanical energy can realize farmland, sowing, fertilization, weeding and pest control more accurately and quickly. Mechanization of production, supplemented by scientific management, has greatly improved the efficiency of agricultural production.

The fifth is the integration of agricultural production and marketing. The agricultural system in the United States is called "agro-industrial complex", and the number of people employed in this system accounts for 17% of the national labor force, which is much higher than the labor force that agriculture itself can absorb. The United States introduced the management methods and experience of developing first and then maturing in the industrial field into agriculture, forming the integration of production, processing and sales, and realizing industrialized operation. For example, in the grain production and marketing system, including the supply of agricultural inputs, the purchase and processing of agricultural products, wholesale and retail, and catering, a complete system of "from field to table" has been formed.

Sixth, science and technology are widely used in agricultural production. Advanced science and technology are the solid backing of America's high productivity. America's economic strength keeps it in the leading position in agricultural technology. On the premise of protecting the environment and improving the quality of the environment, it is the basic goal of American agricultural research to use and save resources most effectively, improve agricultural output and profit rate, improve the quality of agricultural products and maintain the competitiveness of agriculture in the international market. At present, new agricultural biological technologies such as genetic engineering, cell engineering, enzyme engineering and fermentation engineering have been widely used.

Seventh, pay attention to the sustainable development of agriculture. In order to protect the agricultural ecological environment, realize the sustainable development of agriculture, use and save agricultural resources most effectively, and maintain the sustainable competitiveness of agriculture in the world, the United States attaches great importance to the popularization and use of agricultural conservation tillage technology and machinery. After long-term efforts, the proportion of conservation tillage (calculated by the standard of crop stubble coverage reaching 30%) has reached 30%-40% for soybeans and 25% for corn. The actual crop stubble coverage rate is less than 30%, and the cultivated land area close to the standard is much larger than the above figures. The United States began to implement the land fallow protection plan from 65438 to 0986. Based on the principle of farmers' voluntary participation, with government subsidies, farmers have implemented long-term vegetation restoration and protection from fallow to returning farmland to forests and grasslands for10/5 years, and finally achieved the goals of improving water quality, reducing soil erosion, improving ecological environment and promoting sustainable agricultural development.

Second, the experience and practice of American agricultural development

The United States has developed from an immigrant country to an agricultural power in the world today. Besides good resources, national policies also play an important role.

(A) the use of agricultural legislation to ensure agricultural development. In the past few decades, the United States Congress has passed a large number of laws on agriculture, forming a relatively complete legal system to guide agricultural and rural development. Congressional agricultural legislation is a process of debate and repeated consultation, and it is a process of mutual concessions by various interest groups. Legislation is the basis for the government to formulate agricultural policies and implement agricultural plans, and it must be based on law. Various agricultural laws not only stipulate the basic orientation of the government to agricultural policies, but also stipulate the basic authority of the government to intervene in economic development, and government behavior can only be limited within the scope prescribed by law.

According to an official from the Office of the Chief Economist of the US Department of Agriculture, after nearly 80 years of changes since the promulgation of the Agricultural Adjustment Law in 1933, the United States has formed a relatively complete agricultural legal system based on the Agricultural Law and supported by more than 100 important laws. The U.S. government updates relevant laws every five to six years. In the process of the change of the bill, the government not only fully respects the supporting role of the market operation mechanism and the inherent law of agricultural production development, but also emphasizes the functions and functions of the government, so that the new bill gradually changes from the original centralized control of agricultural product prices and output to price subsidies for farmers, thus ensuring the sustained and rapid development of American agriculture.

(B) the government to carry out more effective macro-control of agriculture. As a developed market economy country, the United States relies mainly on market forces to rationally allocate resources. The severe agricultural crisis in 1930s forced the Roosevelt administration to implement a new agricultural policy and initiated economic intervention. Since then, although the share of American agriculture in the national economy has been declining, the government still attaches importance to the basic position of agriculture and has adopted a strong policy of price protection and income support for agriculture. The macro-control of agriculture in the United States has three characteristics: first, there is a special government regulatory agency (commodity credit company), which has established a huge and flexible federal reserve system; Second, there is sufficient financial support, and the federal government's funds for agricultural support have exceeded $25 billion a year at its peak; Third, the government implements a "voluntary" agricultural plan for farmers, and gives strong cooperation through means such as price, credit and subsidies.

(3) Provide strong financial support for agricultural development. American agriculture is basically private investment. There are two main ways for farmers to solve the problem of funds: one is the government's agricultural product mortgage loan plan, that is, if the price of crops is low after harvest, farmers can use agricultural products as collateral without repayment of loans; Second, the government provides credit guarantee. The short term of agricultural loans ranges from 1-5 years to 40 years, and the interest rate is relatively low. However, in the early stage of agricultural development, the infrastructure related to agricultural development was once the focus of government investment because of its large investment and slow effect. The federal government established the Tennessee Valley Authority on 1933, which not only controlled the flood, but also provided cheap electricity, and received great economic and social benefits. The U.S. government gives preferential tax treatment to agricultural investment, and the tax relief can reach 48% of taxable income. Agricultural investment is considered as a legal "tax haven" for farmers. The crop insurance system implemented in the United States is also conducive to agricultural development.

The American Agricultural Credit Committee visited during the training is a private organization that provides loans to farmers, farmers and cooperatives. The American Agricultural Credit Committee provides comprehensive services such as low-interest loans and tax incentives to farmers or cooperatives to help farmers engage in agricultural production and sales. The U.S. government divides the whole country into 12 agricultural credit zones, and each agricultural credit zone has an agricultural credit committee, which is responsible for formulating agricultural credit policies that meet local production needs in light of the specific conditions of the region, effectively ensuring the efficient operation of agricultural credit funds.

(4) Attach importance to agricultural science and education, and form a trinity system of education, scientific research and popularization. The American government has always regarded agricultural education, research and technology extension as its important responsibilities. 1862, the federal government passed the Land-grant College Act, which stipulated that each state should at least use the proceeds from the sale of public land to establish a state college offering agricultural and mechanical courses, and land-grant colleges developed rapidly. 1877 After the Hatch Act was passed, the agricultural experimental stations led by the Ministry of Agriculture and the agricultural colleges of state and state universities gradually developed into a part of the agricultural colleges. 19 14 The Smith-Reeve Act laid the foundation for the development of agricultural technology extension. In this way, through legislation, a trinity system of agricultural teaching, agricultural scientific research and agricultural extension has been formed. This system has three characteristics: first, the state agricultural college undertakes three tasks of education, scientific research and popularization at the same time, so that the three tasks are organically combined and promoted each other; Second, the annual scientific research promotion plan is applied from the grassroots level, and the promotion service work is led by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural College, mainly by the Agricultural College, to provide services for agricultural production; Third, the promotion funds are shared by the federal, state and county, while the research funds mainly come from public and private companies, which complement each other and jointly promote the research and development and promotion of agricultural science and technology in the United States.

(5) Develop service-oriented agricultural cooperatives. Farmer cooperatives play an important role in the comprehensive agricultural service system in the United States. In the United States, where family management is dominant, in order to solve the problem that a single farm is difficult to do, non-profit cooperatives are needed to provide various services and reduce production costs. The services provided by agricultural cooperatives mainly include: (1) sales and processing services. This cooperative is an important channel to connect farmers and the market, with millions of members and total sales exceeding 1000 billion US dollars. Among the agricultural products sold, milk is the most important, followed by grains and oilseeds, as well as fruits and vegetables. The business of this kind of cooperatives not only includes product concentration, storage, price negotiation, auction organization and other links, but also carries out deep processing, produces products for direct consumption, and obtains as much profit as possible for farmers; (2) supply services. These cooperatives provide multi-functional services, including selling petroleum products, fertilizers, pesticides, feed, seeds, agricultural machinery and spare parts. , and occupies a considerable share in the national agricultural input market (fertilizer and oil account for 44%, pesticides account for 29%, and feed and seeds account for about 65,438+06%); In addition, they also provide a wide range of scientific and technological services, such as soil testing, epidemic prevention, breeding, cow improvement, crop monitoring, economic accounting and legal advice; (3) Credit services. In the loans obtained by farmers, cooperative system occupies an increasing share. At present, the loans provided by the agricultural cooperative credit system have accounted for about 2/5 of all agricultural loans, including seasonal commercial loans, medium-term loans to make up for the shortage of liquidity, long-term loans for capital construction and loans to support exports. (4) Rural electric power cooperatives and rural telephone cooperatives; (5) service cooperatives, that is, cooperatives specializing in certain services other than the above categories, such as transportation, storage, drying, artificial insemination, irrigation, fire insurance, housing, etc.