Smithsonian unveils new ag website
March 19, 2013 | 05:47 PM
In honor of National Agriculture Day today, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is unveiling a new website where the public can upload stories about technologies and innovation that have changed their work lives in agriculture — stories about everything from precision farming and food-borne illness tracking to environmental concerns, government practices, irrigation, biotechnology and hybrid seeds.
The museum is launching the Agriculture Innovation and Heritage Archive to encourage farmers, ranchers and American agri-business to preserve America's agricultural heritage and build a collection that reflects modern agricultural practices. Curators are seeking stories, photographs and ephemera to record and preserve the innovations and experiences of farming and ranching.
This collection of stories, photos and objects will play a role in the "American Enterprise" exhibition, an 8,000-square-foot multimedia experience that focus on the role of business and innovation in the United States from the mid-1700s to the present. The exhibition is scheduled to open in May 2015.
As an example of the agriculture stories the Smithsonian is seeking, the museum will accept a donation of road signs related to no-till production and organic farming from Jim Rapp, a corn and soybean farmer from Princeton, Ill.
The American Enterprise project budget is $20 million which includes the exhibition, a virtual exhibition on the Web, and an array of programs and demonstrations as well as an endowment for a curator of American business. Recent donations in support of the "American Enterprise" exhibition include a $2 million gift from Monsanto and a $1 million gift from the United Soybean Board.
The museum is launching the Agriculture Innovation and Heritage Archive to encourage farmers, ranchers and American agri-business to preserve America's agricultural heritage and build a collection that reflects modern agricultural practices. Curators are seeking stories, photographs and ephemera to record and preserve the innovations and experiences of farming and ranching.
This collection of stories, photos and objects will play a role in the "American Enterprise" exhibition, an 8,000-square-foot multimedia experience that focus on the role of business and innovation in the United States from the mid-1700s to the present. The exhibition is scheduled to open in May 2015.
As an example of the agriculture stories the Smithsonian is seeking, the museum will accept a donation of road signs related to no-till production and organic farming from Jim Rapp, a corn and soybean farmer from Princeton, Ill.
The American Enterprise project budget is $20 million which includes the exhibition, a virtual exhibition on the Web, and an array of programs and demonstrations as well as an endowment for a curator of American business. Recent donations in support of the "American Enterprise" exhibition include a $2 million gift from Monsanto and a $1 million gift from the United Soybean Board.
