Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia.

My name is Jody Avergan.

This day, let's go to 1919 1919 when the United States Department of Agriculture

launched a campaign against what were known as scrub bulls. The USDA defined a

scrub bull as an inferior male cow of, quote, mixed or unknown breeding.

It was important as agriculture and farming was industrializing in this country to try and keep livestock

as high quality as possible. But throughout the in this

focus on high quality as possible.

But throughout the 1920s, this focus on good breeding

among cows expanded in all sorts of weird and deep ways.

For one, and this is the thing that really caught our eye with this story,

we got to the point in this country where there were what were known as scrub bull trials.

So-called inferior cows were put on trial at county fairs and the like where they were made

to account for their substandard breeding and then often at the end of the trial put to death

the USDA even sent out instructions for how to conduct such a trial in your own town.

So shout out to listener Victoria who suggested we look into the scrub bull trials.

I haven't encountered a story in a long time.

I feel like that has felt more like us and shout out to listeners for

really getting a story that feels like right up our alley but let's talk about

the Scruble of trials and also something that does tie into these larger

obsessions of the era with breeding and genetics and quote-unquote good stock

not just within animals. So here as always are Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kylie Carter Jackson of Wellesley.

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