In the Russians’ Steppes: The Introduction of Russian Wheat on the Great Plains of the United States of America

TY - JOUR

T1 - In the Russians’ Steppes

T2 - The Introduction of Russian Wheat on the Great Plains of the United States of America

AU - Moon, David Gerard

PY - 2008

Y1 - 2008

N2 - In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, wheat varieties from the Russian steppes were introduced on the Great Plains of the USA: regions with similar environments. The introduction was partly a by-product of the migration of German farmers from the steppes to the Great Plains in the 1870s. The US Department of Agriculture, eager to promote American wheat production in a competitive world market for grain in which Russia was in the lead, sought out wheat varieties on the steppes suitable for the Great Plains. Russian wheat varieties became mainstays on the Great Plains for the next few decades, while Russian agriculture declined under Soviet power. On the basis of research on both sides of the Atlantic, this article sheds light on an important aspect of the global exchange of peoples and crops that has shaped the agricultural and economic history of societies around the world since the invention of agriculture.

AB - In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, wheat varieties from the Russian steppes were introduced on the Great Plains of the USA: regions with similar environments. The introduction was partly a by-product of the migration of German farmers from the steppes to the Great Plains in the 1870s. The US Department of Agriculture, eager to promote American wheat production in a competitive world market for grain in which Russia was in the lead, sought out wheat varieties on the steppes suitable for the Great Plains. Russian wheat varieties became mainstays on the Great Plains for the next few decades, while Russian agriculture declined under Soviet power. On the basis of research on both sides of the Atlantic, this article sheds light on an important aspect of the global exchange of peoples and crops that has shaped the agricultural and economic history of societies around the world since the invention of agriculture.

KW - Wheat

KW - Russia

KW - USA

KW - introduction

KW - USDA

KW - steppes

KW - Great Plains

U2 - 10.1017/S1740022808002611

DO - 10.1017/S1740022808002611

M3 - Article

SN - 1740-0228

VL - 3

SP - 203

EP - 225

JO - Journal of Global History

JF - Journal of Global History

IS - 2

ER -