A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929

Agriculture is the most fundamental of all human activities. Today, those who till the soil or tend livestock feed a world population of approximately 6.5 billion. Fifty years ago, the planet could not have sustained such a large population, and according to present projections, farmers will have to feed nine billion people by 2050. The greatest agricultural revolution in history has occurred in the last fifty years , with farmers in the United States leading the way. America’s declining number of farms, however, comes as a surprise to many and may have dramatic implications. Paul K. Conkin’s A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929 charts the profound changes in farming that have occurred during his lifetime. Conkin’s personal experience growing up on a small Tennessee farm complements compelling statistical data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Using economic and historical analysis, Conkin assesses the skills, new technologies, and government policies that helped transform American farming. He clarifies the present status of a subsidized, large-scale, mechanized, and chemically supported agriculture, evaluates its environmental and human costs, and surveys alternatives to a troubled, widely challenged system. Paul K. Conkin is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of numerous books, including The State of the Earth, The Southern Agrarians, and When All the Gods Trembled. This important book explores a recent revolution in American history that substituted technology for people and animals in farming and greatly increased output. Paul Conkin tells this tale in his own way, drawing upon his personal involvement in the story as well as the relevant scholarship and the basic documents. --Richard Kirkendall This book is an accurate and straightfoward account of agriculture in America down through the years, spiced with the on-farm experiences of the author himself. All the important farm issues and views about them are discussed in a format that is handy and easy to read. Perfect for the new student of agriculture who needs a quick but detailed introduction to farming history in the United States --Gene Logsdon Conkin’s book certainly springs forward and can be read in a manner that encourages the reader to gain a comprehensive understanding of the topics addressed. What is more, his book is truly interesting to anyone interested in the history of farming or the history of rural America. --North Florida News Daily This book should be recommended reading for students and teachers of agriculture. Furthermore, those working in production agriculture will likely find the book very provocative. --Choice This cogent, thorough history should prove fascinating for anyone interested in the changing landscape of American agriculture. --Publishers Weekly Conkin has combined his skills as a historian with his considerable knowledge and passion for agriculture to write an in-depth account of the revolution in agricultural production that occurred after 1930. This book should be recommended reading for students and teachers of agriculture. Furthermore, those working in production agriculture will likely find the book very provocative. Highly recommended. --Choice As interesting as the personal tale is, however, what is even more useful is Conkin’s concise, carefully written discussion of the major changes in American agriculture since 1929. --Journal of Illinois History Conkin provides an original twist by narrating his own experiences of farm life as a youth in eastern Tennessee…he manages to personalize his tale without letting nostalgia blind his scholarly critical eye. --Journal of American History Historian Paul K. Conkin provides an interesting examination of the transformation that has occurred in American agriculture over the last eighty years. --Kentucky Ancestors This book provokes thought, and ideally it will provoke reflection and a study that addresses the social costs as well as the industrial gains made during the greatest industrial revolution in the history of the United States, the agricultural production revolution. --Ohio Valley History For a generation of students who know little about the agricultural past, Conkin’s book will provide an important and well-rounded overview. --Agricultural History An accurate and straightforward account of agriculture in America down through the years, spiced with the on-farm experiences of the author himself. Perfect for the new student of agriculture who needs a quick but detailed introduction to farming history in the United States. --Gene Logsdon, author of The Mother of all Arts: Agrarianism and the Creative Impulse Conkin cogently describes agricultural life with particular attention to changes wrought by the world beyond farmyard and fields . . . about lost American country life. --Indiana Magazine of History Conkin provides a masterful survey of the major agricultural legislation of the 1930s, noting that the long-term effect of these programs continues to invite curiosity. . . . a friendly, approachable work on agricultural history . . . a map to new ways of thinking about the past and planning for the future. --Arkansas Historical Quarterly Clearly written and organized, Conkin’s book will appeal to anyone interested in farming and the agricultural economy. --Book News Conkin’s latest book—or perhaps, as he predicts, his final book—is a thoughtful and elegantly written survey of American agriculture since the 1930s. --Business History Review -- Sarah Phillips Revolution clarifies an immensely complex topic, not only changes in American agricultural practices and technologies, but also the politics of definition and the long term repercussions of what many might simply ignored as banal. --Southeastern Librarianhttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_history_of_science_technology_and_medicine/1012/thumbnail.jp

A comparison of substrate oxidation during prolonged exercise in men at terrestrial altitude and normobaric normoxia following the coingestion of 13C glucose and 13C fructose

This study compared the effects of co-ingesting glucose and fructose on exogenous and endogenous substrate oxidation during prolonged exercise at altitude and sea level, in men. Seven male British military personnel completed two bouts of cycling at the same relative workload (55% Wmax) for 120 minutes on acute exposure to altitude (3375m) and at sea level (~113m). In each trial, participants ingested 1.2 g.min-1 of glucose (enriched with 13C glucose) and 0.6 g.min-1 of fructose (enriched with 13C fructose) directly before and every 15 minutes during exercise. Indirect calorimetry and isotope ratio mass spectrometry were used to calculate fat oxidation, total and exogenous carbohydrate oxidation, plasma glucose oxidation and endogenous glucose oxidation derived from liver and muscle glycogen. Total carbohydrate oxidation during the exercise period was lower at altitude (157.7±56.3 grams) than sea level (286.5±56.2 grams, P=0.006, ES=2.28), whereas fat oxidation was higher at altitude (75.5±26.8 grams) than sea level (42.5±21.3 grams, P=0.024, ES=1.23). Peak exogenous carbohydrate oxidation was lower at altitude (1.13±0.2 g.min-1) than sea level (1.42±0.16 g.min-1, P=0.034, ES=1.33). There were no differences in rates, or absolute and relative contributions of plasma or liver glucose oxidation between conditions during the second hour of exercise. However, absolute and relative contributions of muscle glycogen during the second hour were lower at altitude (29.3±28.9 grams, 16.6±15.2%) than sea level (78.7±5.2 grams (P=0.008, ES=1.71), 37.7±13.0% (P=0.016, ES=1.45). Acute exposure to altitude reduces the reliance on muscle glycogen and increases fat oxidation during prolonged cycling in men, compared with sea level

Dietary nitrate supplementation enhances high-intensity running performance in moderate normobaric hypoxia, independent of aerobic fitness.

Nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BRJ) increases plasma nitrite concentrations, lowers the oxygen cost (V̇O2) of steady-state exercise and improves exercise performance in sedentary and moderately-trained, but rarely in well-trained individuals exercising at sea-level. BRJ supplementation may be more effective in a hypoxic environment, where the reduction of nitrite into nitric oxide (NO) is potentiated, such that well-trained and less well-trained individuals may derive a similar ergogenic effect. We conducted a randomised, counterbalanced, double-blind placebo controlled trial to determine the effects of BRJ on treadmill running performance in moderate normobaric hypoxia (equivalent to 2500 m altitude) in participants with a range of aerobic fitness levels. Twelve healthy males (V̇O2max ranging from 47.1 to 76.8 ml kg(-1)·min(-1)) ingested 138 ml concentrated BRJ (∼15.2 mmol nitrate) or a nitrate-deplete placebo (PLA) (∼0.2 mmol nitrate). Three hours later, participants completed steady-state moderate intensity running, and a 1500 m time-trial (TT) in a normobaric hypoxic chamber (FIO2 ∼15%). Plasma nitrite concentrations were significantly greater following BRJ versus PLA 1 h post supplementation, and remained higher in BRJ throughout the testing session (p  0.05). These findings suggests that a high nitrate dose in the form of a BRJ supplement may improve running performance in individuals with a range of aerobic fitness levels conducting moderate and high-intensity exercise in a normobaric hypoxic environment

A Four-Way Comparison of Cardiac Function with Normobaric Normoxia, Normobaric Hypoxia, Hypobaric Hypoxia and Genuine High Altitude.

There has been considerable debate as to whether different modalities of simulated hypoxia induce similar cardiac responses.This was a prospective observational study of 14 healthy subjects aged 22-35 years. Echocardiography was performed at rest and at 15 and 120 minutes following two hours exercise under normobaric normoxia (NN) and under similar PiO2 following genuine high altitude (GHA) at 3,375m, normobaric hypoxia (NH) and hypobaric hypoxia (HH) to simulate the equivalent hypoxic stimulus to GHA.All 14 subjects completed the experiment at GHA, 11 at NN, 12 under NH, and 6 under HH. The four groups were similar in age, sex and baseline demographics. At baseline rest right ventricular (RV) systolic pressure (RVSP, p = 0.0002), pulmonary vascular resistance (p = 0.0002) and acute mountain sickness (AMS) scores were higher and the SpO2 lower (p<0.0001) among all three hypoxic groups (GHA, NH and HH) compared with NN. At both 15 minutes and 120 minutes post exercise, AMS scores, Cardiac output, septal S', lateral S', tricuspid S' and A' velocities and RVSP were higher and SpO2 lower with all forms of hypoxia compared with NN. On post-test analysis, among the three hypoxia groups, SpO2 was lower at baseline and 15 minutes post exercise with GHA (89.3±3.4% and 89.3±2.2%) and HH (89.0±3.1 and (89.8±5.0) compared with NH (92.9±1.7 and 93.6±2.5%). The RV Myocardial Performance (Tei) Index and RVSP were significantly higher with HH than NH at 15 and 120 minutes post exercise respectively and tricuspid A' was higher with GHA compared with NH at 15 minutes post exercise.GHA, NH and HH produce similar cardiac adaptations over short duration rest despite lower SpO2 levels with GHA and HH compared with NH. Notable differences emerge following exercise in SpO2, RVSP and RV cardiac function

One Philosophy for an American Revolution

A Review of The Philosophy of the American Revolution by Morton Whit

Jersey Homesteads -- A Triple Co-operative

Chapter 11, pages 256-276, of Title: "Tomorrow a new world: the New Deal communuity program." Publisher: Ithaca, NY, Published for the American Historical Association (by) Cornell University Press, 1959. Author; Conkin, Paul Keith

The new deal

118 p.; 20 cm

the American History series:The new Deal

xiv.121 hal.;ill.;23 c