Farming is not just a job. It is a collective activity of feeding animals, milking, fieldwork, sowing seeds, harvesting crops, and much more.
Dax Cooke believes that farmers are often underappreciated for the hard work they do for the betterment of food quality and livestock. To pay respects to all the farmers around the world who work tirelessly so that we can get nutritious foods on our table, Dax Cooke compiles a list of the most influential people in the history of farming and agriculture.
Dax Cooke Shares a List of the Most Famous Farmers in Agriculture History
Here is a list of some people who made an impact on the world of agriculture through their research and hard work, as discussed by Dax Cooke.
1. Fritz Haber
Born in 1868 in Breslau, Germany, Fritz Haber is known for his revolutionary technique of converting nitrogen in the atmosphere into a bioavailable form.
After contributing his time and energy to various subjects in chemistry, including combustion of hydrocarbons, electrolytic oxidation and reduction, limiting steam engines’ loss of energy, and study of flames, he turned to nitrogen fixation.
In 1918, Fritz Haber received a Noble Prize in Chemistry for his work on nitrogen fixation. The Haber-Bosch process was the answer to a long and unresolved question by chemists, that of fixing nitrogen available in the air.
Fritz Haber was able to create ammonia from the inert atmospheric nitrogen gas and react it with hydrogen under high pressure.
This technique is still widely used in the agriculture world for the production of nitrogen fertilizers.
2. Norman Ernest Borlaug
Norman Borlaug was born in 1914 near Iowa, United States. He was an American agronomist and plant pathologist. Norman Borlaug received his Noble Peace Prize in 1970.
Norman Borlaug is known as the “Father of the Green Revolution.” He saved a billion people from starvation through the development of successive varieties of wheat by creating diseases resistant strains that were adapted to withstand harsh climates.
His “green revolution” led to increased food grain production. He developed a dwarf, short-stemmed wheat strain that increased crop yields. The dwarf varieties of wheat could withstand the weight of heads, and the production of wheat in Mexico was multiplied threefold due to this advancement.
His development of this wheat variety became a model for further advancements in other important crops of the world.
3. George Washington Carver
Born in Diamond, Missouri, United States, George Washington Carver was an American inventor and agricultural scientist. His works produced a positive impact on farming practices after the American Civil War.
Born into slavery, George Washington Carver pursued education and later on earned a master’s degree in agricultural science.
He invented hundreds of products using sweet potatoes, soybeans, and peanuts. Dax Cooke found out that he didn’t invent peanut butter, but his greatest inventions include using peanuts for shampoo, chili sauce, shaving cream, and glue.
After the war, George Washington Carver focuses his attention on improving the lives of many African American southern families by introducing self-sustaining farming practices.
He recommended growing peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes since growing crops for so many years had depleted the soil of its nutrients. By growing these alternate crops, they will produce their own nitrogen in this nitrogen-depleted soil, thus replenishing the nutrients.
Dax Cooke Lists Some More Influential People in the History of Agriculture
There are more scientists and researchers who made breakthrough advancements and incredible accomplishments in agriculture. Dax Cooke lists them as follows.
- Robert Thomas Fraley: Known as the father of agricultural biotechnology
- George Harrison Shull: Recognized as the father of hybrid corn
- Rachel Carson: Remembered for her influential book “Silent Spring” and its challenge against the use of DDT and other pesticides.