In the early 1800's the Secretary of the Treasury initiated a program requesting U.S. Ambassadors and military officers to gather seeds and seed data from their posts around the world. This program became more methodical in 1839 when the U.S. Patent Office established an agricultural division that began collecting seeds and launching free seed distribution programs. In 1862 the United States Department of Agriculture was established and at this time the department devoted at least one-third of its budget to collecting and distributing seeds to farmers across the country (Center for Food S...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate