World War I was raging in February of 1918, and Kansas Farmer carried a plea to farmers to do the right thing and plant more wheat. The call read: “This is no time to talk about rights of wrongs or grievances. Our one inquiry should be, what ought we to do in this crisis; not how much ought we to get out of it. Our democratic government will not command you do everything which you ought to do. It expects you to do it of your own free will.

It is not simply the people of England, France and martyred Belgium who are calling for your wheat! It is democracy itself whose life is at stake. Your wheat will help save its life. Your wheat will not only help make the world safe for democracy, it will help to make your own Kansas prairie safe for your own children and your children’s children.”

70 years ago
Back in February of 1948, rural electrification was the issue of the day. Running water under pressure — and hot water right from the tap — were two of the miracles brought to farm homes where electricity was available. In Kansas, more than 10,000 Kansas farms gained electricity. But interestingly, the advertisement touting that fact introduced Reddy Kilowatt, not Willie the Wired Hand.

50 years ago
Irrigation was being used more and more on Kansas farms in 1968, and Kansas State University researchers offered a proven added benefit of fertilizers: They not only improve yields, but they help plants use less water.

Russell Herpich, a Kansas Extension irrigation engineer, reported that fertilizers make crops use water more efficiently under both favorable and unfavorable growing conditions. He said that the high fertility encourages plants to develop more robust root systems that are better able to utilize the moisture that is available.

20 years ago
In February of 1998, USDA proposed a rule that would define nationwide standards for what food products could be labeled “organic.” USDA did not resolve some pretty important issues: Can organic growers use sewage sludge for fertilizer? Can irradiation be used to sterilize food? Can genetically modified organisms be used in organic production?

The organic industry wanted all three practices banned.

Goerzen is executive director of Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita, where she lives with her husband, Matt, four kids, three cats and a dog.