The USDA Yearbooks of Agriculture: Snapshots of 142 Years of USDA History.

The first Yearbook of Agriculture was published in 1849, 13 years before the Department of Agriculture was established in 1862 by Abraham Lincoln.  The last Yearbook of Agriculture was published in 1991. The yearbooks represent snapshots of USDA’s history.  From 1849 until around 1935, the yearbooks primarily covered cattle and livestock and did not have specific topics for titles.  The yearbooks presented brief summaries of miscellaneous new developments in agriculture.  In 1936, under the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, the yearbooks were devoted to a single subject.  The 1936 yearbook was entitled “Better Plants and Animals” and focused on the creative development of new forms of life through plant and animal breeding.  From 1936 until 1991, yearbook titles included: “Soils and Men,” “Farmers In a Changing World,” “Climate and Man,” “Keeping Livestock Healthy,” “Grass,” “Trees,” “Insects,” “Marketing,” “Animal Diseases,” “Living On a Few Acres,” and “Will There Be Enough Food.”  This presentation will feature some highlights from the Yearbooks of Agriculture that cover 142 years of USDA history.