Interview with John E. Culp, May 14, 2018

Interview Summary

John E. Culp, a former employee of the TVA, begins the interview by recalling how he was hired at the TVA. Culp's first assignment at the TVA is explored. The circumstances behind how the TVA began to work in fertilizer production are examined. The TVA's work during the Great Depression is detailed. TVA's Demonstration Farms Project is illustrated. Culp discusses TVA's fertilizer program and its effects upon farmers and the fertilizer industry. Additionally, the interviewee recalls some of his most pertinent memories of the fertilizer program, including a trip to Peru. Culp's involvement in the creation of an international agricultural training program with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is considered. Culp explains how budget cuts affected TVA programming and how this spurred innovations outside of the TVA. One such innovation, Rapid Adjustment Farms, created by Tennessee Cooperative Extension is articulated. Issues in farming during the 1980s are also mentioned. Next, the interviewee lists some of the energy conversion methods the TVA developed in the 1980s. Structural changes to the TVA are highlighted. Culp also talks of the contract work he did with the TVA following his official retirement in the late 1980s. Culp's greatest accomplishments at the TVA are evaluated. To conclude the interview, Culp explains how the decision to cut the TVA's Fertilizer Development Center led nonprofits and other federal agencies to redouble their efforts in agricultural research and development to fill the void left behind by the TVA.

Interview Keyword

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Agricultural development Demonstration farms Communications Fertilizer production Federal agencies Fertilizer Development Center Rapid adjustment farms Congressional appropriations World War I Great Depression Farm practices Farm management Agricultural extension work United States Agency for International Development (USAID) International development Soil conservation Environmental research

Interview LC Subject

Tennessee Valley Authority Tennessee Alabama Muscle Shoals (Ala.) Farms Farmers Economic development Fertilizers Agriculture Training Fertilizer industry World War, 1914-1918. Budget deficits Research Innovations Non-governmental organizations Depressions--1929--United States

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.