Seaman Asahel Knapp

Seaman Asahel Knapp (December 16, 1833 – April 1, 1911) was an American physician, college instructor, and administrator. —from 1883 to 1884; his interest in agricultural demonstration work began in 1886 when he moved to Louisiana and began developing a large tract of agricultural land in the western part of the state. He founded Vinton, Louisiana, naming the town after his hometown, Vinton, Iowa.

The boll weevil caused trouble for southern farmers after it entered the United States in 1892, creating an interest in farm demonstrations as a way to show farmers how to deal with the pest most effectively. This provided the foundations for formal Cooperative Extension work, which followed in 1914.

Knapp could neither persuade local farmers to adopt the techniques he had perfected on his farm, nor could he enlist farmers from the North to move to the region to help teach them. Thus, he decided to provide incentives for farmers to settle in each township on the condition that each would demonstrate the results of his farming methods to other farmers. Northern farmers began moving into the region, and native farmers began using Knapp's methods. By 1902, Knapp was employed by the government to promote good agricultural practices in the South.

In 1903, the U.S. Department of Agriculture hired Knapp to lead a response to an emergency caused by the boll weevil, which feeds on cotton and contributed to widespread crop losses. He planned to select a representative from each affected community to implement a recommended method for boll weevil control and demonstrate the results.

A farm demonstration at the Walter G. Porter farm, now a National Historic Landmark in Terrell, Texas, was set up by the Department of Agriculture at the urging of concerned merchants and growers. This demonstration of Knapp's techniques was the first in a series of steps that eventually led to the passage of the legislation that formalized Cooperative Extension work.

Knapp is commemorated in Washington, D.C., by a bridge linking the U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building to the U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building across Independence Avenue.

Death and legacy Seaman A. Knapp died in 1911, aged 77, and is interred at Iowa State University Cemetery, Ames, Iowa.

November 27, 1912 was named "Knapp Agricultural Day" in all public schools in memory of Knapp. His work continued to be recognized with special honors long after his death.

His son, Bradford Knapp, was the president of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now known as Auburn University, from 1928 to 1933, and the second president of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.