View source for Farm-to-market road

{{short description|Type of road in some U.S. states}}
[[File:Texas-Road-FM218-8974b.jpg|thumb|right|FM 218 outside [[Hamilton, Texas]], a typical Texas farm-to-market road]]
In the United States, a '''farm-to-market road''' or '''ranch-to-market road''' (sometimes '''farm road''' or '''ranch road''' for short) is a [[state highway]] or [[County highway|county road]] that connects [[Rural area|rural]] or [[Agriculture|agricultural]] areas to [[market town]]s. These are better-quality roads, usually a [[highway]], that [[farm]]ers and [[ranch]]ers use to transport products to market towns or distribution centers. Historically used throughout the country, today the term is primarily associated with a large state-maintained highway system in [[Texas]].

==History==
By 1930, counties and townships across the U.S. had built a large number of farm-to-market roads, many of which were in need of repairs and safety improvements. The chief of the [[Bureau of Public Roads]], [[Thomas Harris MacDonald]], considered this need to be driven not by insufficient funding but by inefficient planning and inadequate equipment on the part of thousands of counties. He advocated for an expansion of state-maintained highway systems through the [[federal-aid highway program]], so that counties could focus on maintaining fewer roads to a higher level of service.<ref>{{cite news|title=Counties Try To Build Roads Without Engineering Direction And Proper Equipment|work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]|date=February 23, 1930|page=4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107033548/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

==Texas==
{{Main category|Farm to Market Roads in Texas}}

This term is most closely associated with [[Texas]], where '''Farm to Market Road''' and '''Ranch to Market Road''' indicate roadways that are part of the state's system of secondary and connecting routes, built and maintained by the [[Texas Department of Transportation]] (TxDOT). Texas established this system in 1949 to improve access to rural areas. As with other state-maintained highways in Texas, all Farm or Ranch to Market roads are paved. The system consists primarily of two-lane roads, although some segments have an additional number of lanes, while some have been upgraded to [[Controlled-access highway|freeways]]. Farm to Markets may also run alongside large urban freeways and tollways (for example, [[FM 1093]], which runs west out of Houston to the Katy-Fulshear area alongside [[Westpark Tollway]]). Speed limits along these roads vary, but may be as high as {{convert|75|mph|kph}} in rural areas,<ref name="Richardson2013">{{cite news|title=New speed limit signs being posted|url=https://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/new-speed-limit-signs-being-posted/article_cc5d8281-0597-5d89-938a-be6211e52ac3.html|last=Richardson|first=Robin Y.|work=Marshall News Messenger|date=June 18, 2013|access-date=October 28, 2022}}</ref> such as in [[Andrews County, Texas|Andrews]] and [[Pecos County, Texas|Pecos]] counties (for example, along [[Farm to Market Road 1788|FM&nbsp;1788]], [[Farm to Market Road 1776|FM&nbsp;1776]], and [[Farm to Market Road 1053|FM&nbsp;1053]]).<ref name="Clark2022">{{cite news|title=NTSB opens investigation in Andrews deadly van crash|url=https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/local-news/ntsb-opens-investigation-in-andrews-deadly-van-crash/|last=Clark|first=James|publisher=EverythingLubbock.com|date=March 16, 2022|access-date=October 28, 2022|quote=[NTSB spokesperson Eric] Weiss also said, 'FM 1788 is a two-lane, two-way asphalt roadway with a 75-mile-an-hour speed limit.'}}</ref> 

===History===
The first farm-to-market road in Texas was completed in January 1937 during the [[Great Depression]]. It connected [[Mount Enterprise, Texas|Mount Enterprise]] and the former community of Shiloh in [[Rusk County, Texas|Rusk County]]. The route was {{convert|5.8|mi|km}} long and was constructed at a cost of $48,015.12 ({{Inflation|US-GDP|48105.12|1937|fmt=eq|r=-3}}{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}). This route is now part of [[Texas State Highway 315]].<ref name="FM facts" />

The first officially designated highway, [[Farm to Market Road 1|FM&nbsp;1]], was authorized in [[Sabine County, Texas]] in 1941 to connect [[U.S. Route 96|US&nbsp;96]] near [[Pineland, Texas|Pineland]] to a sawmill belonging to the Temple Lumber Company at Magasco.<ref name="FM 1">{{TxDOT|FM|1|access-date=April 8, 2011}}</ref><ref name="TxMonthly Primer">{{cite journal |last=Burka |first= Paul |date=April 1983|title=Texas Primer: The Farm-to-Market Road|journal=Texas Monthly|volume=11|issue=4 |page=134|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8SwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134}}</ref> The first Ranch to Market Road was designated in 1942.<ref name="Courtney2019">{{cite journal|last=Courtney|first=David|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/the-texanist-farm-to-market-ranch-to-market-roads/|title=The Texanist: What's the Difference Between a Farm to Market Road and a Ranch to Market Road?|journal=Texas Monthly|volume=47|issue=8|date=August 2022|access-date=October 27, 2022}}</ref>

In 1945, the highway commission authorized a three-year pilot program for the construction of {{convert|7205|mi|km}} of farm-to-market roadways, with cost to be shared equally by the state and federal governments.<ref name="FM Create 1945">{{cite news |title=Texas to improve farm to market roads|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RX1LAAAAIBAJ&pg=4709,493868 |newspaper=Harper Herald|date=June 15, 1945 |page=3|access-date=April 8, 2011}}</ref> As the program grew, efforts were made by legislators from rural areas, including [[Texas Senate|State Senator]] [[Grady Hazlewood]] of [[Amarillo, Texas|Amarillo]], to expand the farm-to-market road network in the late 1940s.<ref name="Hazlewood Globe">{{cite news |last=Followwill-Line|first=Robyn|title=Grady Hazlewood|newspaper=Amarillo Globe-News|url=http://amarillo.com/stories/051900/his_hazlewood.html|date=May 19, 2000|access-date=April 8, 2011}}</ref> The funding was to have come from an increase in the [[fuel tax]], as proposed by State Senator Grover Morris in 1947. Although polls suggested that a majority of Texas residents were in favor of such a tax,<ref name="belden1946">{{cite news|title='Out of the Mud' by Hiking Tax On Gas Is Desire of Majority|last=Belden|first=Joe|work=Austin American|date=November 24, 1946|id={{ProQuest|1611714314}}}} {{subscription required}}</ref> this measure was stymied by lobbyists, who supported such funding for [[arterial road]]s.<ref name="TxMonthly TRGA">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first= Griffin Jr. |date=April 1974 |title=The Highway Establishment and How It Grew |journal=Texas Monthly |volume=2 |issue=4 |page=86}}</ref>

The popularity of the program and the perceived need to connect the vast, isolated central and western areas of the state prompted the passing of the Colson-Briscoe Act in 1949, sponsored by State Senator E. Neveille Colson and State Representative [[Dolph Briscoe]].<ref name="TTI Hall Colson">{{cite web|author=Texas Transportation Institute |publisher=Texas A&M University System |url=http://tti.tamu.edu/hall_of_honor/inductees/2005.htm |title=Texas Transportation Hall of Honor: Inductees: 2005 |access-date=April 8, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220120105/http://tti.tamu.edu/hall_of_honor/inductees/2005.htm |archive-date=February 20, 2011 }}</ref> This legislation appropriated funding for the creation of an extensive system of secondary roads to provide access to the rural areas of the state and to allow farmers and ranchers to bring their goods to market, reserving a flat $15{{nbsp}}million per year (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|15,000,000|1949}}}} in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) plus 1 cent ({{inflation|US|0.01|1949|r=2|fmt=eq}}{{inflation/fn|US}}) per gallon of gasoline sold in the state for local highway construction.<ref name="TxMonthly Primer" />

By 1957, the system had grown to over {{convert|31,000|miles|km}}.<ref name="statesman1957">{{cite news|title=Giant Road Plans Told|date=November 2, 1957|work=Austin Statesman|id={{ProQuest|1613523821}}}} {{subscription required}}</ref> In 1962, the Texas legislature adjusted the appropriated funding amount to $23{{nbsp}}million annually (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|23,000,000|1962}}}} in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}), through federal fund matching, and expanded the farm-to-market system from {{convert|35000|to|50000|mi|km}}.<ref name="THSA HwyDev">{{Handbook of Texas|author=Kite, Kirk|name=Highway Development|id=erh02|retrieved=April 7, 2011}}</ref><ref name="TxDOT Hist1">{{cite web|author=Texas Department of Transportation|title=TxDOT History: 1970 to 1951|url=http://www.txdot.gov/about_us/1970_1951.htm|access-date=April 8, 2011|author-link=Texas Department of Transportation}}</ref> By 1964, the system's mileage exceeded that of all other federal and state routes combined.<ref name="statesman1964push">{{cite news|title=State Sets Big F-M Road Push|work=Austin Statesman|date=May 7, 1964|id={{ProQuest|1522273918}}}} {{subscription required}}</ref> The system now accounts for over half of the mileage maintained by TxDOT.<ref name="TxDOT Pocket Facts">{{cite web|url=https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot-info/gpa/pocket_facts.pdf|title=Pocket Facts|year=2021|agency=Texas Department of Transportation|access-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref>

===Identification===
[[File:Texas FM 1960.svg|150px|thumb|The sign for [[Farm to Market Road 1960|FM 1960]], a farm-to-market road near [[Houston]], Texas]]

Signs designating a Farm to Market or Ranch to Market road are a black square background containing a white shape of the state of Texas, with the words "FARM ROAD" or "RANCH ROAD" appearing in white text on the background and the route number in black text within the shape of Texas.<ref name="Texas SHSD">{{cite web|title=Standard Highway Sign Designs for Texas|edition=Revision 4, 2012|date=May 2021|url=https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/trf/shsd/2012/complete.pdf|page=3{{ndash}}14|agency=Texas Department of Transportation|access-date=October 28, 2022}}</ref> [[Traffic sign|Guide signs]] (the large green signs usually found along [[highway]]s in the United States) designating these roads use a simple white rectangle with the abbreviation "F.M." or "R.M." and the route number appearing below the abbreviation in black text.<ref name="FSH Book">{{cite book|author=Texas Department of Transportation|title=Freeway Signing Handbook|date=October 2008|pages=4–9 to 4–10|url=http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/fsh/index.htm|access-date=April 8, 2011|author-link=Texas Department of Transportation}}</ref>

As a result of population growth and the expansion of urban areas, many Farm to Market and Ranch to Market roads that originally served rural areas now serve urban areas, sometimes exclusively. An effort was made to rename such roads "Urban Roads" on June 27, 1995, but residents opposed the effort, arguing that removing the "Farm" and "Ranch" from the designations was "un-Texan," and that the cost of changing signage was not justified. Other than a few route markers, such as on [[Farm to Market Road 1315|FM&nbsp;1315]] near [[Victoria, Texas|Victoria]], most signs were not changed, and TxDOT abandoned the idea to do so.<ref name="UR Redesig">{{cite news |last=Hughes |first= Sharon |title=Highway officials nix urban road designation|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pSVSAAAAIBAJ&pg=1946,2751619 |newspaper=Victoria Advocate |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=July 16, 1995 |access-date=April 7, 2011}}</ref> While the Farm to Market and Ranch to Market route markers remained in use, the state tracked these Urban Roads separately in its highway designation files. For example, the mileage of [[Farm to Market Road 544|FM&nbsp;544]] in the [[Plano, Texas|Plano]] area was transferred from FM&nbsp;544 to UR&nbsp;544 in 1995.<ref name="FM 544">{{TxDOT|FM|544|access-date=April 7, 2011}}</ref><ref name="UR 544">{{TxDOT|UR|544|access-date=April 7, 2011}}</ref> As part of the state highway system, Urban Roads were eligible for state maintenance; however, unlike rural Farm to Market and Ranch to Market roads, they did not receive state funding for expansion.<ref name="UR Chron">{{cite news |last=Babineck |first= Mark |title=Tex-Arcana: What's a farm-to-market road?|url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5065822.html |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |date=August 18, 2007 |access-date=April 8, 2011}}</ref> On November 15, 2018, the Urban Road system was cancelled, and all roads on this system reverted back to their previous FM and RM designations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/commission/2018/1115/4.pdf  |title=Minute Order 115371  |publisher=Texas Department of Transportation|date=November 15, 2018|access-date=January 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/commission/2018/1115/agenda.pdf | title=Agenda | publisher = Texas Transportation Commission | date= November 15, 2018 | access-date=November 10, 2018}}</ref> For example, UR&nbsp;544 was redesignated as FM&nbsp;544.

[[File:FMRM.svg|thumb|Distribution of Farm to Market (green) and Ranch to Market (brown) Roads]]

Farm to Market and Ranch to Market roads are numbered as a single set of roads; thus, there is not an FM and an RM route with the same number.<ref name="Greig1997">{{cite news|title=RR, RM, FM? Signs along 620 explained|last=Greig|first=Jane S.|work=Austin American Statesman|date=August 12, 1997|id={{ProQuest|255539235}}}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Urban Roads were designated with the same route numbers as the FM or RM routes from which the mileage was transferred.<ref name="TxDOT Glossary">{{cite web|author=Texas Department of Transportation|title=Highway Designations Glossary|url=http://www.dot.state.tx.us/business/governments/glossary.htm|access-date=April 8, 2011|author-link=Texas Department of Transportation|archive-date=October 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010210629/http://www.dot.state.tx.us/business/governments/glossary.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Ranch Road 1]], which runs near the former ranch home of former President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], is signed with a Ranch to Market Road route marker, but it is not part of this system; rather, it is the only roadway that TxDOT has designated as a "Ranch Road".<ref name="FM facts">{{cite web |publisher=Texas Department of Transportation |author=Staff |url=http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/fmfacts.htm |title=Farm/Ranch to Market Facts |access-date=February 26, 2008 |archive-date=April 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422083211/http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/fmfacts.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" perrow="2">
File:FM_1719_at_US_87-287.jpg|'''Route marker''': FM 1719 route marker in [[Potter County, Texas|Potter County]] (left) alongside route markers for U.S. 87 and U.S. 287 (right)
File:Texas guide sign SL SH FM.jpg|'''Guide sign''': destination sign along [[Interstate 35 in Texas|Interstate 35]] showing typical signage for a Farm to Market Road (right), along with signage for a State Highway Loop (left) and a State Highway (center) for comparison
</gallery>

===Business routes===
[[File:Texas Business FM 1960-A.svg|thumb|right|80px|Route marker for Business Farm to Market Road 1960]]
Texas currently has two signed [[business route]]s of Farm to Market Roads: [[Ranch to Market Road 1431#Business route|Business RM&nbsp;1431]] in [[Burnet County, Texas|Burnet County]] and [[Farm to Market Road 1960#Humble business loop|Business FM 1960]] in [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]].<ref name="BF1431J">{{TxDOT|BF|1431|J|access-date=April 7, 2011}}</ref><ref name="BF1960A">{{TxDOT|BF|1960|A|access-date=April 7, 2011}}</ref> Both business routes are former alignments that have been bypassed by newer routings. A third business route, Business [[Farm to Market Road 1187|FM&nbsp;1187]] in [[Tarrant County, Texas|Tarrant County]], was designated from 2004 to 2016.<ref name="BF1187C">{{TxDOT|BF|1187|C|access-date=April 7, 2011}}</ref>

== Other states ==
[[Missouri]] has a similar state-operated system of farm-to-market roads, called [[Missouri supplemental route]]s. Missouri uses single (e.g., "O", "V") and double letters (e.g., "NN", "AC").{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

[[Iowa]] also has a farm-to-market road system. Those roads are under county [[jurisdiction]],<ref>[http://www.legis.state.ia.us/IACODE/2003/306/3.html Iowa Code 2003: Section 306.3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113035031/http://www.legis.state.ia.us/IACODE/2003/306/3.html |date=2007-01-13 }}. Retrieved March 28, 2006</ref> but are eligible for state aid from a dedicated fund.<ref>[http://www.legis.state.ia.us/IACODE/2001/312/5.html Iowa Code 2001: Section 312.5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050322211602/http://www.legis.state.ia.us/IACODE/2001/312/5.html |date=2005-03-22 }}. Retrieved March 28, 2006.</ref>

[[Louisiana]] has a farm-to-market road system. The [[1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering|1955 renumbering]] renumbered all routes based on an A-B-C system of route classification: A is primary, B secondary, and C farm-to-market. All routes 300 through 1266 are classified C routes.<ref>[[1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=May 2020}}

[[Ohio]]'s farm-to-market roads were maintained by the state [[Ohio Department of Highways|Department of Highways]] but built to only a [[County roads in Ohio|county road]] standard. In 1939, the state spent ${{format price|1472121}} (equivalent to ${{format price|{{inflation|US-GDP|1472121|1939}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) to improve {{convert|74417|mi||adj=pre|centerline}} of farm-to-market roads.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ohio Builds Up Rural Road System|work=[[East Liverpool Review]]|location=East Liverpool, Ohio|date=February 6, 1940|page=5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107035169/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1940, the department launched a farm-to-market road improvement program alongside the usual maintenance program; it improved {{convert|742|mi}} of roadway at a cost of ${{format price|9588000}}, including funds from the [[Works Progress Administration]].<ref>{{cite news |date=August 19, 1940 |title=742 Miles Rural Roads Finished Or Being Built By Ohio Highway Dept. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107035516/ |work=[[Marysville Journal-Tribune|The Union County Journal]] |location=Marysville, Ohio |pages=1–2 |via=Newspapers.com}} [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107035667/]</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Farm to Market Roads in Texas]]
*[[Agricultural road]]
*[[Agriculture in Texas]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.dot.state.tx.us/ Texas Department of Transportation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812041600/http://www.dot.state.tx.us/ |date=2007-08-12 }}

{{Road types}}
{{US route types}}

[[Category:Roads in the United States]]
[[Category:Types of roads]]
[[Category:Agriculture in Texas]]