ABSTRACT
For nearly a century and a half, agriculture was the chief business of Missouri, and it is the third-ranking economic activity. The scientific developments that followed World War I transformed agricultural technology and had a marked influence on Missouri farm people. Continuous improvements in farming machinery and methods encouraged agricultural expansion. The most far-reaching mechanical development has been the invention of the general-purpose farm tractor, which brought about a great change in Missouri agriculture—the decline in numbers of horses and mules. Missouri's future growth in food and fiber production depends on many factors, of which two are major: the comparative advantage Missouri has for producing a given commodity, and how quickly Missouri farmers adopt new technological practices. Finally, many improvements in transportation have influenced locational advantages in producing agricultural products. Agricultural societies and fairs were organized to share and disseminate information on improved methods and advances in technology.
