Biological innovations played a far more important role in American agricultural development than previously thought. These innovations were essential in allowing farmers to combat pests and diseases, to move the agricultural production into new environments, and to increase farm productivity. Many biological advances, especially those aimed at fighting contagious animal diseases, required unprecedented federal government interventions to overcome the free‐rider problem and to transfer new knowledge into effective public policy. Early USDA animal disease programs significantly increased productivity and trade in the livestock sector and prevented hundreds of thousands of untimely deaths in the United States from food‐borne illnesses by 1940.

中文翻译：

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美国农业发展的历史和制度观点

生物创新在美国农业发展中发挥的作用比以前想象的要重要得多。这些创新对于让农民能够对抗病虫害、将农业生产转移到新环境以及提高农业生产力至关重要。许多生物学进步，特别是那些旨在对抗传染性动物疾病的进步，需要联邦政府前所未有的干预来克服搭便车问题并将新知识转化为有效的公共政策。到 1940 年，美国农业部早期的动物疾病计划显着提高了畜牧业的生产力和贸易，并防止了美国数十万人因食源性疾病而过早死亡。