IMPLICATIONS OF EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY FOR AMERICAN AGRICULTURE

Technology has made United States agriculture one of the most pro-ductive in the world. In so becoming, agriculture has gone through major technological eras. The mechanical era of 1920-1950 made the transition from horsepower to mechanical power and greatly increased the productive capacity of agriculture. The chemical era of 1950-1980 increased production by reducing the constraint on production caused by pests and disease. American agriculture is now entering a new major technological thrust- the biotechnology and information tech-nology era. The implications of this new era could be more profound than those of either the mechanical or chemical technological eras. The biotechnology and information technology era has been fostered by substantially expanded private sector investment in agricultural research complemented by increased public sector emphasis on basic research. The output of this new era is in its infancy today but can be expected to have a great impact over the next three decades. Manifes-tations of this technological era include growth hormones, growth reg-ulators, embryo transplants, gene insertion, computerized farm management decision models, and monitoring and controlling tech-nology. Biotechnology Biotechnology is defined as any technique that uses living organ-isms to make or modify products, to improve plants and animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific uses. It focuses on the use of recombinant DNA and cell fusion which are powerful techniques that allow a large amount of control over biological systems. A major thrust of biotechnology in animals is the mass production in microorganisms of proteinaceous pharmaceuticals, including a number of hormones, enzymes, amino acids, and feed supplements