In honor of Black History Month, we celebrate five innovators who changed the way we farm.
Henry Blair: Blair was an American inventor who designed and patented corn and cotton planters. The corn planter had a seed attachment and rakes so farmers could sow seeds and cover them in one movement; the horse-drawn cotton planter divided the soil and dropped seeds into the rows, boosting efficiencies.
Frederick McKinley Jones
Frederick McKinley Jones: After Jones patented a refrigeration system in 1940, farmers could ship proteins and produce long distances, opening their access to markets and promoting worldwide food trade.
George Washington Carver: Carver was a soil scientist who pioneered crop rotation. He recognized that cotton depleted nitrogen in the soil, so he began alternating cotton crops with peanuts and other nitrogen-fixing legumes.
Karen Washington: As the owner of Rise & Root Farm and cofounder of Black Urban Growers, Washington has championed urban farming as a means of providing access to fresh, local foods; this has promoted a resurgence in urban farming.
Booker T. Whatley: Whatley encouraged farmers to create clientele membership clubs, selling memberships in exchange for fresh produce to provide steady cash flow. The model, now known as community- supported agriculture, or CSA, changed the way farmers sell produce.
As part of your Black History Month celebrations, learn more about Ag Education for All.
