8000 (BC)
 Animals and grain domesticated in the Middle East - the birth of agriculture.
1493
 Christopher Columbus brought calves, goats, sheep, pigs, hens, citrus, melons and many kinds of vegetables to America.
1585
 The potato was introduced in Spain from South America.
1607
 English colonists in Jamestown, Va. planted grain, potatoes, pumpkins, melon, cotton, oranges.
1609
 Indians taught the Jamestown settlers how to grow corn.
1731
 Jethro Tull introduced the horse-drawn cultivator and seed drill to English farming.
1783
 Improved cattle, probably shorthorns, were introduced.
1784
 James Small invented the iron plow in England.
1793
 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.
1798
 John (Johnny Appleseed) Chapman planted his first appleseed nursery in western Pennsylvania.
1831
 Cyrus McCormick invented the grain reaper.
1836
 The grain combine was patented.
1837
 John Deere began manufacturing plows.
1839
 Congress appropriates $1,000 to U.S. Patent Office for "collection of agricultural statistics and distribution of seeds."
1841
 Using 1840 Agricultural Census as a benchmark, U.S. Patent Office issues first "crop report." It continues annual releases until 1848.
1843
 Sir John Lawes founded the commercial fertilizer industry by developing a process for making superphosphate.
1850
 S.S. Rembert and J. Prescott developed a mechanical cotton picking machine. A farm family in the western prairies needed about $1,000 to establish a 160-acre farm.
1850
 About 75-90 hours of labor required to produce100 bushels of corn with walking plow, harrow and hand planting. Yields were about 40 bushels per acre.
1855
 Michigan and Pennsylvania established the first state agricultural colleges.
1856
 A patent for condensing milk was issued to Gail Borden.
1858
 Mason jars, used for home canning, were invented.
1862
 President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating the first Department of Agriculture (USDA). Lincoln also signed the Morrill Land Grant College Act.
1863
 First monthly Crop Report issued by USDA in July showing May/June conditions reported by 2,000 farmers.
1867
 Barbed wire was invented.
1869
 Transcontinental railroad completed.
1874
 Georgia established the first state department of agriculture.
1875
 First silos built.
1881
 Hybridized corn produced.
1887
 The Hatch Experiment Station Act was passed, providing federal grants to states for agricultural experimentation.
1888
 The first long haul shipment of a refrigerated freight car was made from California to New York.
1892
 The first gasoline tractor was built by John Froelich.
1900
 Special work projects for farm youth were organized in Illinois; the name "4-H" was adopted in 1913.
1900
 The amount of labor needed to produce 100 bushels of corn is down to 35-40 hours using a 2-bottom gang plow, disk and peg-tooth harrow and 2-row planter. Yields remain about the same as in 1850.
1902
 The Reclamation Act was passed, leading to water projects for irrigation.
1906
 The first rural electric line was constructed at Hood River, Oregon.The Pure Food and Drug Law was enacted.
1909
 Congress specifies exactly which crops are to be covered in USDA Crop Report and stipulates release times. USDA staff prohibited by law from making premature disclosure of crop information.
1911
 The Farm Bureau was formed in Broome County, New York.
1914
 Establishment of the federal-state extension service was a major step in direct education for farmers.
1919
 American Farm Bureau Federation formally organized.
1921
 The first farm market news radio report was broadcast over KDKA, Pittsburgh. The Packers and Stockyards Act was enacted. The Grain Futures Trading Act was enacted.
1922
 Capper-Volstead Act exempts farm cooperatives from federal anti-trust statutes.
1933
 The Farm Credit Administration was established, creating specialized credit for agriculture.
1938
 The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 was enacted, authorizing farm price supports and adjustment programs.
1940
 School milk program initiated.
1947
 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was negotiated. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act passed.
1949
 Agricultural Act of 1949 passed, incorporating the principle of flexible price support and giving surplus food to the needy.
1950
 Commercial fertilizer use helps increase yields. Corn yields now 50 bushels per acre. Farmer works 10-14 hours to produce 100 bushels of corn with tractor, 3-bottom plow, disk, harrow, 4-row planter and 2-row picker. Farmers make up 12.2 percent of population.
1959
 Food for Peace Program inaugurated. Mechanical tomato harvester developed.
1964
 National Food Stamp Act passed.
1970
 Development of Plant Variety Protection Act.
1980
 Grain embargo imposed against the Soviet Union following its invasion of Afghanistan.
1981
 Soviet grain embargo lifted.
1985
 Passage of 1985 Food Security Act shifts U.S. farm policy toward market orientation.
1986
 A September meeting in Punte Del Este, Uruguay kicks off the Uruguay Round of talks on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
1988
 U.S.-Canada free trade accord ratified.
1989
 The number of U.S. farm acres retired through the Conservation Reserve Program reaches 30 million.
1991
 More farmers use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, working with nature to lessen the need for crop protectants and other inputs.
1993
 Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Advances in biotechnology reach the agricultural producer and consumer level.
1994
 Farmers begin using satellite technology to track and plan their farming practices. The use of conservation tillage methods, which leave crop residues in the field to combat erosion, continues to rise. Farm Bureau celebrates its 75th anniversary. U.S. Congress approves General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), helping liberalize world trade.
1996
 World Trade Organization, the principal international forum governing world trade and the major enforcer of the Uruguay Round, is created. The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act is signed into law. The market-oriented FAIR Act, also called "Freedom to Farm," will phase out agricultural subsidies over a seven-year period, and allows farmers to plant according to what the market dictates.
1997 The first weed and insect-resistant biotech crops -- soybeans and cotton -- are available commercially.
2000 USDA unveils organic standards for foods along with its official USDA Organic Seal.
2002
 Only 2 labor hours and one acre of land required to produce 100 bushels of corn, with farmer using a tractor, 5-bottom plow, 25-foot plow, 25-foot tandem disk, planter, 25-foot herbicide applicator, 15-foot self-propelled combine and trucks. Farm population is only 1.9 percent of total population.
2005 Each U.S. farmer produces food and fiber for 143 people.
2007 Globally, more than 10 million farmers in 22 countries grow biotech crops on more than 1.4 billion acres. About 9.3 million people who plant biotech crops are poor-resource farmers in developing countries.

Information from: The American Farm Bureau Federtion®