IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/14141.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Henry Agard Wallace, the Iowa Corn Yield Tests, and the Adoption of Hybrid Corn

Author

Listed:
  • Richard C. Sutch

Abstract

This research report makes the following claims: 1] There was not an unambiguous economic advantage of hybrid corn over the open-pollinated varieties in 1936. 2] The early adoption of hybrid corn before 1937 can be better explained by a sustained propaganda campaign conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the direction of the Secretary of Agriculture, Henry Agard Wallace. The Department's campaign echoed that of the commercial seed companies. The most prominent hybrid seed company, Pioneer Hi-Bred Company, was founded by Wallace and he retained a financial interest while serving as Secretary. 3] The early adopters of hybrid seed were followed by later adopters as a consequence of the droughts of 1934 and especially 1936. The eventual improvement of yields as newer varieties were introduced explains the continuation and acceleration of the process.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard C. Sutch, 2008. "Henry Agard Wallace, the Iowa Corn Yield Tests, and the Adoption of Hybrid Corn," NBER Working Papers 14141, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14141
    Note: DAE
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w14141.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Galambos, Louis, 1968. "The Agrarian Image of the Large Corporation, 1879–1920: A Study in Social Accommodation," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(3), pages 341-362, September.
    2. Olmstead, Alan L. & Rhode, Paul W., 2001. "Reshaping The Landscape: The Impact And Diffusion Of The Tractor In American Agriculture, 1910–1960," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(3), pages 663-698, September.
    3. Alan L. Olmstead & Paul W. Rhode, 2002. "Hog Round Marketing, Seed Quality, and Government Policy: Institutional Change in U.S. Cotton Production, 1920-60," ICER Working Papers 37-2002, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    4. Bronwyn H. Hall, 2004. "Innovation and Diffusion," NBER Working Papers 10212, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. A. A. Dowell & O. B. Jesness, 1939. "Economic Aspects of Hybrid Corn," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 21(2), pages 479-488.
    6. Paul David, 2005. "Zvi Griliches on Diffusion, Lags and Productivity Growth …Connecting the Dots," Labor and Demography 0502002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Knudson, Mary K. & Ruttan, Vernon W., 1988. "Research and Development of a Biological Innovation: Commercial Hybrid Wheat," Food Research Institute Studies, Stanford University, Food Research Institute, vol. 21(1), pages 1-24.
    8. Arthur Diamond, 2004. "Zvi Griliches's contributions to the economics of technology and growth," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 365-397.
    9. Zvi Griliches, 1958. "Research Costs and Social Returns: Hybrid Corn and Related Innovations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(5), pages 419-419.
    10. Paul R. Johnson, 1960. "Land Substitutes and Changes in Corn Yields," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 42(2), pages 294-306.
    11. Olmstead,Alan L. & Rhode,Paul W., 2008. "Creating Abundance," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521857116.
    12. Lucier, Gary & Chesley, Agnes & Ahearn, Mary Clare, 1986. "Farm Income Data: A Historical Perspective," Statistical Bulletin 154593, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    13. Shaw, Lawrence H. & Durost, Donald D., 1965. "The Effect of Weather and Technology on Corn Yields in the Corn Belt, 1929-62," Agricultural Economic Reports 307297, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    14. repec:cup:jechis:v:61:y:2002:i:03:p:663-698_03 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Olmstead, Alan L. & Rhode, Paul W., 2003. "Hog-Round Marketing, Seed Quality, and Government Policy: Institutional Change in U.S. Cotton Production, 1920–1960," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 63(2), pages 447-488, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Richard Hornbeck, 2012. "The Enduring Impact of the American Dust Bowl: Short- and Long-Run Adjustments to Environmental Catastrophe," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(4), pages 1477-1507, June.
    2. Richard Sutch, 2011. "The Impact of the 1936 Corn Belt Drought on American Farmers' Adoption of Hybrid Corn," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Climate Change: Adaptations Past and Present, pages 195-223, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Anacleto Sosa-Baldivia & Guadalupe Ruiz Ibarra, 2018. "Inadequate Nitrogen Fertilization: Main Cause of the Low Seed Yield on the Chia Crop (Salvia hispanica L.)," Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, Biomedical Research Network+, LLC, vol. 2(1), pages 2255-2256, January.
    4. Richard Sutch, 2010. "The Impact of the 1936 Corn-Belt Drought on American Farmers’ Adoption of Hybrid Corn," Working Papers 201002, University of California at Riverside, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2010.
    5. William A. Brock & Steven N. Durlauf, 2010. "Adoption Curves and Social Interactions," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 8(1), pages 232-251, March.
    6. Tiago Luiz Luz Leiria, 2018. "How to Approach the Patient with Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation and Cha2ds2-Vasc Score of 1," Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, Biomedical Research Network+, LLC, vol. 2(2), pages 2525-2527, February.
    7. Keith Meyers & Paul Rhode, 2020. "Yield Performance of Corn under Heat Stress: A Comparison of Hybrid and Open-Pollinated Seeds during a Period of Technological Transformation, 1933-1955," NBER Working Papers 27291, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Michael J. Roberts & Wolfram Schlenker, 2011. "The Evolution of Heat Tolerance of Corn: Implications for Climate Change," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Climate Change: Adaptations Past and Present, pages 225-251, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Dra Mirta D’Ambra, 2018. "Mother Cells Advances in Regenerative Medicine," Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, Biomedical Research Network+, LLC, vol. 2(2), pages 2514-2515, February.
    10. Alessandro Muscio & Roberta Sisto, 2020. "Are Agri-Food Systems Really Switching to a Circular Economy Model? Implications for European Research and Innovation Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-15, July.
    11. Alston, Julian M. & Pardey, Philip G. & Ruttan, Vernon W., 2008. "Research Lags Revisited: Concepts and Evidence from U.S. Agriculture," Staff Papers 50091, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    12. Keith Meyers & Paul W. Rhode, 2020. "Yield Performance of Corn under Heat Stress: A Comparison of Hybrid and Open-Pollinated Seeds during a Period of Technological Transformation, 1933–55," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Research and Innovation in Agriculture, pages 107-129, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Richard C. Sutch, 2008. "Henry Agard Wallace, The Iowa Corn Yield Tests, And The Adoption Of Hybrid Corn," Working Papers 200807, University of California at Riverside, Department of Economics, revised Jun 2008.
    2. Richard Sutch, 2010. "The Impact of the 1936 Corn-Belt Drought on American Farmers’ Adoption of Hybrid Corn," Working Papers 201002, University of California at Riverside, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2010.
    3. Richard Sutch, 2011. "The Impact of the 1936 Corn Belt Drought on American Farmers' Adoption of Hybrid Corn," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Climate Change: Adaptations Past and Present, pages 195-223, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Pardey, Philip G. & Alston, Julian M. & Ruttan, Vernon W., 2010. "The Economics of Innovation and Technical Change in Agriculture," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 939-984, Elsevier.
    5. Taylor, Rebecca & Zilberman, David, 2015. "The Diffusion of Process Innovation: The Case of Drip Irrigation in California," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205320, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Brown, Mark & Ferguson, Shon M. & Viju, Crina, 2017. "Agricultural Trade Reform, Reallocation and Technical Change: Evidence from the Canadian Prairies," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 263492, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Tavneet Suri, 2006. "Selection and Comparative Advantage in Technology Adoption," Working Papers 944, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    8. Keith Meyers & Paul W. Rhode, 2020. "Yield Performance of Corn under Heat Stress: A Comparison of Hybrid and Open-Pollinated Seeds during a Period of Technological Transformation, 1933–55," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Research and Innovation in Agriculture, pages 107-129, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Richard H. Steckel & William J. White, 2012. "Engines of Growth: Farm Tractors and Twentieth-Century U.S. Economic Welfare," NBER Working Papers 17879, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Alston, Julian M. & Pardey, Philip G. & Ruttan, Vernon W., 2008. "Research Lags Revisited: Concepts and Evidence from U.S. Agriculture," Staff Papers 50091, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    11. Mark Brown & Shon M. Ferguson & Crina Viju-Miljusevic, 2018. "Intranational Trade Costs, Reallocation, and Technical Change: Evidence from a Canadian Agricultural Trade Policy Reform," NBER Chapters, in: Agricultural Productivity and Producer Behavior, pages 125-155, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Keith Meyers & Paul Rhode, 2020. "Yield Performance of Corn under Heat Stress: A Comparison of Hybrid and Open-Pollinated Seeds during a Period of Technological Transformation, 1933-1955," NBER Working Papers 27291, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Alan L. Olmstead, 2020. "Historical and Institutional Perspectives on American Agricultural Development," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(2), pages 400-418, March.
    14. Bloom, Nicholas & Hassan, Tarek Alexander & Kalyani, Aakash & Lerner, Josh & Tahoun, Ahmed, 2021. "The diffusion of disruptive technologies," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113870, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Wang, Shanchao & Alston, Julian M. & Pardey, Philip G., 2023. "R&D Lags in Economic Models," Staff Papers 330085, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    16. Ali-Yrkkö, Jyrki, 2004. "Impact of Public R&D Financing on Private R&D - Does Financial Constraint Matter?," Discussion Papers 943, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    17. Beghin, John C. & Jensen, Helen H., 2008. "Farm policies and added sugars in US diets," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 480-488, December.
    18. E. C. Mamatzakis, 2010. "The contribution of the publicly-funded R&D capital to productivity growth and an application to the Greek food and beverages industry," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 483-494.
    19. Daberkow, Stan, 1987. "Agricultural Input Industry Indicators in 1974-85: Expansion and Contraction," Agricultural Information Bulletins 309404, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    20. Joyous S. Tata & Paul E. McNamara, 2016. "Social Factors That Influence Use of ICT in Agricultural Extension in Southern Africa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-10, April.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N12 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14141. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.