In the early 1990s, Mr. Murphy adapted his already successful hog farming enterprise, Murphy Family Farms, to a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) model. Being one of the first farmers to do so, his hog-fattening technique set a nation-wide standard, with the number of hogs per farm increasing by 60% across the United States from 1989-1994. Murphy Family Farms worked to perfect hog raising, and by the late 1990s the farming operation was more efficient than any in the country. They produced 22 piglets per sow annually— compared to the national average of 15— and they were able to feed their pigs substantially less than other farms while obtaining the same amount of fat.
Started by a Mr. Wesley Sawyer, then bought by Walter Golden in the 1940s. This was the last working dairy farm in Stamford, CT. In the 1940s, there were about 4 or 5 left, but when the 90s hit, Golden's was the last one standing. When settlers first arrived in the area, they built farms around the seashore and along rivers. But as land became valuable, they continued to cut down forests. Then the farmland was seen as too valuable to not be converted into real estate and less and less of the area was dedicated to farming. Golden began farming poultry and eggs as they became more popular than dairy farms at the time, and continued work on his farm until retirement, selling his eggs to smaller grocery stores and from his own home.
This photo highlights the extreme conditions that corn can tolerate, which is one of the many reasons that it became a staple in American agriculture and food. In a place called the "Canyon of Death" it is impressive that anything is able to survive the harsh climate.
The first settlers arrive in Bennington, the first Vermont town west of the Green Mountains. By 1765 1500 people lived in the town, each house feeding it self from its own lands and herds. Primary harvests were of Corn, Maple Sugar, Wheat and Dairy products. They also built a dam at Benton Pond to provide power for several mills, potteries and furnaces, being built along the Walloomsac river. Over by the 1800s Bennington had become a local political and economic power making use of the country side to prosper. (Pictured Maple Sugar being collected by horse drawn sledge)
As Steinberg mentions, this event took place when animal waste flowed out of the animal farm/feedlot into the New River in North Carolina. This event wreaked havoc on the river. Not only did it hurt the river but the waste disrupted and killed many fish populations as well as eventually making its way to the ocean. This one instance of waste overflow speaks to a much larger environmental issues of the meat industry which is water pollution.
The Industry for meat within America had been growing at a substantial rate ever since the first livestock arrived with European settlers. As population exponentially grew, so did the need for more livestock to support the new masses of people. The major issue that stood in the way was shipping the meat without it going bad. Previous methods were successful, but none more successful and impactful than the refrigerator. The first refrigeration system used in the meat packing industry was in Chicago during the year 1900. Within fifteen years, every meat packing company had refrigerators. This invention provided the ability to store meat safely for much longer which gave the packing companies security if they overhauled production to much. Unfortunately, it did not and the horrifying 1900's Chicago meat packing industry took off. This required more trains, more livestock, more workers, more fossil fuels, and more chemicals. All of these factors lead to significant environmental damage of water, the soil, and the atmosphere.
The Blackstone Canal, constructed in 1828, connected Worcester to Providence along the Blackstone River and allowed for faster and cheaper transportation of goods between the two cities. This canal opened up a wide range of industrial opportunities for Worcester, making it a crossroads city with access to more distant trade markets. In 1835, soon after the canal was built, railroads connecting Worcester and Boston were constructed to further improve trade routes and allow for more rapid industrial expansion in Worcester.
In winters in the pre-automobile era, New England towns would often compact the snow on town roads to make it easier for sleighs and sledges to travel.
This photo is from the early 20th century, but reflects the dominant role that sheep played in Vermont in the 1830s and 1840s, when there were over one million sheep in the state.
This is the center of town in East Dover, Vermont, most likely in the 1920s. Up until the late 1940s, there were no paved roads in the town, which produced nearly impassable roads in the spring "mud season" when frozen roads thawed. As the gasoline pump indicates, cars and trucks were in increasingly wide use. The post office is still in this building nearly a century later.