AGRICULTURE REPORT - From Horses to Tractors, Changes in U.S

AGRICULTURE REPORT - From Horses to Tractors², Changes in U.S. Agriculture
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, June 21, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Over the years, new technologies have changed farming. Change in a general direction is a trend. Yet people often recognize trends only when they consider the past.

Today, we look back at some trends in American agriculture. We begin with the change from animal power to mechanical³ power. Our information comes from the National Agricultural Statistics⁴ Service, part of the Agriculture Department.

In nineteen twenty, America had more than twenty-five million horses and mules⁵. Most were used for farm work. Around the same time, a competitor began to appear in large numbers. Tractors could turn soil, pull loads and speed harvests -- and they could do it better.

More tractors meant fewer horses and mules. By the nineteen sixties, the numbers of these work animals settled to where they remain today. That is about one-tenth the levels in nineteen twenty.

Yet even the demand for tractors had its limits. Tractors reached their highest numbers around nineteen eighty-two. Their numbers have been slowly decreasing. Experts say farmers can do more with less now because of new technologies.

So, tractors replaced horses and mules. As a result, farmers no longer needed to raise crops to feed work animals.

Oats have long been food for horses and mules. In nineteen fifty-four, American farmers planted over sixteen million hectares of oats. By two thousand, that was down to less than one million hectares.

So what did the farmers do with the extra land?

More and more farmers began to plant a new crop around the same time that the tractor¹ became popular. It was the soybean. The soybean is one of the oldest plants harvested. Yet it was not planted widely in the United States until the nineteen twenties.

By the year two thousand, close to thirty million hectares were planted with soybeans. It is the nation's most important crop for high-protein animal feed and for vegetable oil. In fact, soybeans are the second most valuable crop grown by American farmers after corn. Much of the soybean production goes to exports.

Next week, learn about other trends that have affected⁶ productivity⁷ on American farms. And we will discuss future directions for change.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at www.unsv.com. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 tractor   

n.拖拉机，牵引车

参考例句：

• You must oil the tractor every day.你必须每天给拖拉机加油。
• He has a tractor.他有一台拖拉机。

2 tractors   

拖拉机( tractor的名词复数 )； 牵引机； （牵引式挂车的）牵引车； 拖车头

参考例句：

• Ploughs are pulled by tractors, or in some countries by oxen. 犁由拖拉机牵引，在一些国家则用牛来拉。
• Nowadays tractors are used even in remote mountainous regions. 现在连偏僻的山区也用上了拖拉机。

3 mechanical   

adj.机械(学)的；力学的；机械似的；手工操作的

参考例句：

• He borrowed a mechanical book from me.他从我这儿借了一本力学方面的书。
• He looks very mechanical.他看上去非常呆板。

4 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

5 mules   

骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者

参考例句：

• The cart was pulled by two mules. 两匹骡子拉这辆大车。
• She wore tight trousers and high-heeled mules. 她穿紧身裤和拖鞋式高跟鞋。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 productivity   

n.生产力，生产率，多产

参考例句：

• Farmers are introducing in novations which increase the productivity.农民们正引进提高生产力的新方法。
• The workers try to put up productivity.工人设法提高生产率。