September 25 has repeatedly intersected with pivotal moments in American agriculture—shaping land and water policy in the West, resetting access to critical export markets in Asia, and rallying national attention around the struggles and resilience of family farmers.

1890: Sequoia National Park is established, redefining land, grazing, and water in the West

On September 25, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed legislation creating Sequoia National Park—the second-oldest national park in the United States. While celebrated for safeguarding giant sequoias, the designation also marked a turning point in the relationship between agriculture and the Sierra Nevada’s high country.

Throughout the late 19th century, sheep and cattle herds moved deep into Sierra meadows during the summer, a practice conservationists decried for trampling fragile alpine ranges and degrading headwaters that fed the rapidly growing farms and towns of California’s Central Valley. John Muir famously called the roaming herds “hoofed locusts,” reflecting a broader debate about how public lands should be used and protected.

By setting aside the watersheds and meadows that drain into the Kaweah and adjacent river systems, the park’s creation curbed high-elevation grazing pressure and advanced an emerging national ethic of watershed protection. That ethos would later underpin major federal initiatives—from the 1902 Reclamation Act to the expansion of national forests—that secured irrigation supplies for Central Valley fruit, nut, vegetable, and cotton production. In practical terms, September 25, 1890, helped steer the West away from an open-range model in sensitive headwaters and toward land management frameworks that balanced agricultural needs with long-term water reliability.

Today, Sequoia spans more than 400,000 acres. Its protected forests and alpine basins continue to buffer snowpack-fed rivers that are essential to one of the most productive farm regions on earth, linking a conservation milestone directly to the economic backbone of American specialty crops.

2019: A trade breakthrough with Japan preserves crucial market access for U.S. farm goods

On September 25, 2019, the United States and Japan signed the U.S.–Japan Trade Agreement, a deal with outsized significance for American agriculture. Coming after the U.S. withdrawal from the Trans‑Pacific Partnership, the agreement aimed to restore competitive footing for farmers and ranchers in one of the world’s most valuable food import markets.

The pact lowered or eliminated tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. products, including beef, pork, wheat, dairy items, and ethanol, bringing U.S. access broadly in line with what Japan had offered to other key suppliers. The practical effect was immediate and concrete: U.S. beef and pork regained ground against Australian, Canadian, and European competitors; wheat exporters saw improved terms through tariff-rate quotas and mark-up reductions; and dairy products such as cheeses and whey faced a clearer pathway into Japanese retail and foodservice channels.

Japan consistently ranks among the top destinations for U.S. agricultural exports by value. The 2019 signing helped stabilize market share at a time of intense global competition, underlining how trade policy can directly influence farmgate prices, processing margins, and investment decisions across the Corn Belt, the Plains, and coastal specialty-crop regions.

2021: Farm Aid returns in person, spotlighting family farmers’ challenges and solutions

On September 25, 2021, Farm Aid staged its annual benefit concert in Hartford, Connecticut—its first full in-person festival since the onset of the pandemic. Founded in 1985 by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young, Farm Aid has become a cultural touchstone for issues that shape everyday farm life: volatile prices, consolidation, farm stress and mental health, climate resilience, soil health, and fair competition in agricultural markets.

The 2021 gathering channeled donations to hotlines, legal and financial assistance, and farmer-to-farmer networks, while elevating policy conversations about supply-chain bottlenecks, meatpacking concentration, and disaster recovery. Beyond the music, the day served as a national stage for the lived realities of independent producers and a reminder that consumer advocacy and policy reform are intertwined with the long-term viability of rural communities.

Also on this date: Foundations that frame farm and land policy

On September 25, 1789, the U.S. Congress approved the Bill of Rights and sent it to the states. Its protections—especially for property and due process—have shaped generations of legal decisions affecting farmland, water rights, environmental regulation, cooperative organizing, and the rules that govern inspections and enforcement in the food system. While not an agriculture event per se, that constitutional milestone continues to influence how public interests and private rights are balanced across the working landscape.

Why it still matters

September 25’s historical markers sit at the heart of today’s agricultural debates. Western water scarcity, forest health, and drought resilience echo the watershed logic behind Sequoia’s establishment. Intensifying global competition underscores the trade gains secured with Japan. And the sustained visibility of Farm Aid highlights the human side of farm policy—from fair markets to mental health—that statistics alone can’t capture.

Taken together, the arc of this date reflects a throughline in U.S. agriculture: decisions about land, markets, and community support reverberate for decades, shaping who farms, how they farm, and whether rural America thrives.