tribute knowledge quickly. USDA publications edu-
cated diverse nonfarming readers, including con-
sumers and students.
Science, Technology, and Research Agriculturists
appropriated science and technology for various
purposes. Farmers used computers to maintain re-
cords and consulted the Internet for market infor-
mation. Satellites provided images to evaluate fields
for various factors affecting successful cultivation of
crops. Envisioning future lengthy manned missions,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) funded space agricultural research to grow
crops including sweet potatoes, and Tuskegee Uni-
versity researchers successfully used the nutrient
film technique (NFT) on roots to devise agriculture
compatible with space travel.
The 1990 Farm Bill established research prece-
dents for increased agricultural ecology and conser-
vation practices. Secretary of Agriculture Madigan
recognized that large demand for agricultural prod-
ucts necessitated efficient mechanization and irri-
gation. The USDA focused on providing grants to
investigators emphasizing environmental aware-
ness. Agricultural engineers improved low-input sus-
tainable agriculture (LISA) and precision farming
methods that many farmers adopted to minimize
agricultural impact on natural resources.
Legislation approved the Alternative Agricultural
Research and Commercialization Center, which in-
vestigated processing agricultural resources into
innovative products designed for uses other than
consumption. Madigan encouraged farmers to pro-
duce more crops for domestic manufacturing such
as kenaf fiber for newsprint and guayule for rubber
instead of importing similar materials.
In 1992, the Energy Policy Act boosted biofuels
research. The USDA supported research to create
pharmaceuticals from plants and animals. The de-
velopment of nutraceuticals, medically beneficial
foods, generated $17 billion in the United States
during the decade. Veterinary researchers achieved
successful vaccines that controlled such dangerous
livestock diseases as rinderpest and brucellosis.
Throughout the 1990’s, scientists applied bio-
technology to crops and livestock. Bioengineering
resulted in the production of sunflower oleic acid to
make biodegradable plastics. Although many in
Congress were reluctant to approve research money
for agricultural genetic engineering, the USDA
eased regulations. Agricultural researchers pursued
various approaches to nonchemical pest control.
Some scientists genetically engineered plants, while
others sought integrated pest management (IPM)
methods, including infecting insects with viruses.
The USDA’s Meat Animal Research Center at
Clay Center, Nebraska, devised genetic maps for
swine and cattle. USDA researchers sought scientists
worldwide to cooperate to achieve additional live-
stock genome mapping.
Public Opinion Consumers voiced concerns associ-
ated with agriculture throughout the 1990’s. Food
safety represented a major worry for many Americans
who became aware of such dangers as salmonella,
aflatoxin, and Alar, a pesticide used in apple or-
chards, which caused cancer in mice. The Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA) banned Alar from
agricultural usage by 1991. The Food Quality Pro-
tection Act of 1996 further controlled pesticide use.
In the early 1990’s, many consumers protested
the controversial use of the natural bovine somato-
tropin hormone (BST), manufactured commer-
cially with genetic engineering methods to boost
milk yields by as much as 15 percent. The National
Farmers Union and some agricultural organizations
insisted that BST-produced milk be identified or re-
moved from sale, causing public worries that the
milk might be hazardous. In 1993, the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) stated the BST milk was
safe. Many dairy farmers feared they would lose prof-
its because of the BST controversy.
Demand for organic foods expanded by 20 per-
cent annually in the 1990’s. The USDA established
regulations for organic food by 1998, stating that no
chemicals and hormones could be used in foods dis-
playing organic food seals. Many people bought pro-
duce from farmers’ markets, which increased by
more than 50 percent to almost three thousand
markets nationwide during the decade.
Impact Agriculture represented a significant com-
ponent of the U.S. economy during the 1990’s. In-
fluenced by legislation, farmers experimented with
new plants and processes, creating unexpected
opportunities and transforming domestic markets.
As U.S. agricultural land became consolidated into
corporate-owned farms, most Americans became
more removed from the agricultural processes that
impacted their lives. Often unaware of the agricul-
tural sources of their food and clothes, many Ameri-The Nineties in America Agriculture in the United States 17