Seeds as Technology: The Russian Agricultural Bureau in New York and Soviet Agricultural Modernization, 1921–26

Abstract

The article analyzes the significance of seeds in the modernization of Soviet agriculture and illuminates the international dimension of Soviet efforts to establish a planned seed economy in the 1920s. Beyond the reorganization of the village and mechanization of farming, Soviet agricultural experts sought to rationalize agricultural production through the introduction of “improved” seeds. By focusing on the history of the Russian Agricultural Bureau in New York, an international institution that facilitated U.S.‐Soviet seed exchange, this article underscores the engagement of Soviet plant breeders in the international movement of seed modernization in the 1920s. Moreover, it suggests a multidirectional exchange of agricultural knowledge and technologies between the United States and Soviet Russia. Finally, the article discusses different perceptions of seeds as technology and an agricultural commodity.