Agricultural Journalism

Roots of Agricultural Journalism

The story of agricultural journalism is reflected in the major changes in North American agriculture over the past two centuries. Agricultural journalism has its roots in the needs of North Americans for reliable information about farming in the New World. The first U.S. periodical on agriculture, The Agricultural Museum, appeared in 1810. Its editor, the Reverend David Wiley, wrote that such a publication was needed because “common farmers are slow in changing” their approach to agriculture (p. 2). Wiley saw the provision of information, as well as examples of these farmers' “more enlightened neighbors,” as ways to change their prejudices. He promised to provide his readers with current information on farming practices because, in his view, “the magazines, museums and other periodical works” available at the time were “of little service to the agriculturalist” (p. 2).

The Agricultural Museum lasted only 2 years, but other periodicals soon followed. For the most part, these covered a wide range of agricultural interests, including crops, livestock, and horticulture. These publications included the agricultural journals American Farmer, begun in 1819, and Plough Boys and New England Farmer, begun in the 1830s. John Stuart Skinner, publisher of American Farmer and the Baltimore, Maryland, postmaster, is considered the “father” of U.S. agricultural journalism.

Thereafter, the number of new farm magazines rose rapidly. Many succeeded, but some disappeared quickly. By 1840, 30 farm publications existed, with total circulation surpassing 100,000. Notable among the monthly magazines of the mid-1800s was the American Agriculturalist, which featured scientific knowledge and practical aspects of farming in its articles. New printing technology, expanded transportation networks, and free postal service to rural areas made farm publications more affordable and obtainable. Demand for this information grew as farming spread through the Midwest and into the West.

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