The sign for FM 1957, a farm-to-market road near San Antonio, Texas.

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 road or county road which serves to connect rural or agricultural areas to market towns. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts two of them related to a State government in a country that is divided A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture These routes serve as a better quality road, usually a highway, which allows farmers and ranchers to transport their products to market towns and/or distribution centers. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Before adding any more images to this * * page please do carefully consider * * whether they would be mere decoration * * or actually improve A farm is an area of land including various structures devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food ( Produce, Grains, or Livestock A ranch is an area of landscape including various structures given primarily to the practice of ranching the practice of raising grazing livestock such as Cattle

However, in Texas, the terms "Farm to Market Road" or "Ranch to Market Road" indicate a road that is part of the state's system of secondary and connecting routes, built and maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The Texas Department of Transportation ( TxDOT, pronounced "tex-dot" is a Governmental agency in the U This system was established in 1949 as a project to provide access to rural areas. The system consists primarily of paved, two-lane roads. Roads occurring west of U.S. Highway 281 (or Interstate 35 in some locations) are designated ranch-to-market roads, while those occurring east of US 281 are generally designated farm-to-market roads, though there are exceptions to this naming system. US Highway 281 is a north-south United States highway. It is 1872 miles was completed June 9 2008 formerly there was no direct access between the two freeways and Interstate 35 in Texas (abbreviated I-35 or IH-35) is a major north-south Interstate Highway running from Laredo near the United States-Mexico

Although these roads are signed "farm road" or "ranch road" (or simply "FM" and "RM" on larger sign assemblies), the proper name is Farm-to-Market and Ranch-to-Market road. The only exception is Ranch Road 1, which runs near the former ranch home of former President Lyndon B. Johnson.

History

The first Texas farm-to-market road was completed in January 1937 between Mount Enterprise and Shiloh. Mount Enterprise is a city in Rusk County, Texas, United States. Shiloh is the name of six places in the State of Texas in the United States of America: Shiloh Atascosa County Texas The route was 5. 8 miles (9. 1 km) long and cost $48,000. In 1945, the highway commission authorized the construction of 7,500 miles (12,000 km) of farm-to-market roadway, to be shared by the state and Federal governments. The popularity of the program and the vast, isolated central and western areas of the state of Texas prompted the passing of the Colson-Briscoe Act in 1949, which allowed 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. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The act provided $15 million per year for local highway construction. In 1962, the Texas legislature increased this amount to no less than $23 million, and expanded the farm-to-market system from 35,000 to 50,000 miles (54,000 to 80,000 km). The system includes both farm-to-market roads and ranch-to-market roads, and now accounts for over half of the Texas Department of Transportation system.

Identification

FM 544 (or to be more accurate, UR 544) sign at the Denton-Collin county line. The white sign below the shield says "State Maintenance Ends"; the segment of FM 544 within Collin County was removed from the state highway system in 2000.

Signs designating a farm-to-market or ranch-to-market road show a white shape of the state of Texas on a black background with the words "farm road" or "ranch road" appearing in the background and the road number appearing on the shape of Texas. Guide signs (the large green signs usually found along highways) designating these roads show a white rectangle with the abbreviation "F. Most countries post signage known as traffic signs or road signs, at the side of Roads to * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Before adding any more images to this * * page please do carefully consider * * whether they would be mere decoration * * or actually improve M. " or "R. M. " and the road number appearing below the abbreviation.

As a result of population growth and the expansion of urban areas, many of these roads now serve urban areas. An effort was made to rename such roads "urban roads" in 1995, but residents opposed the effort. Though the F. M. and R. M. designations remain in place on route signage, the state tracks Urban Roads separately in its highway designation files. For example, the mileage of Farm to Market Road 544 in Plano was transferred from FM 544 ^[1] to UR 544 ^[2] in 1995. Farm to Market Road 544 is a Farm to Market Road in Collin County Texas that runs from State Highway 121 eastward to State Highway 78. Plano (ˈpleɪnoʊ is a city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U

FM and RM roads are numbered as a single set of roads (e. g. , there should not be an FM and an RM with the same number, unless it crosses US 281). Urban Roads do not share this distinction; URs are normally numbered with the same number they had as FM or RM roads.

Facts and trivia

• All state highways in Texas, regardless of designation, are paved.

• The longest farm-to-market road is FM 168 at 139. 421 miles (224. 38 km).

• The shortest farm-to-market Road is FM 742, at 0. 175 miles (0. 282 km).

• The longest ranch-to-market road is RM 187, at 81. 9 miles (131. 8 km).

• The shortest ranch-to-market road is RM 3474, at 0. 694 miles (1. 12 km).

• According to the Texas Department of Transportation, there are over 41,000 miles (66,000 km) of FM, RM, and urban roads in Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation ( TxDOT, pronounced "tex-dot" is a Governmental agency in the U

Other states

Missouri has a similar state-operated system of farm-to-market roads, called Missouri supplemental routes. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee A supplemental route is a state secondary road in Missouri, designated with letters Unlike Texas' unique farm-to-market route numbers, Missouri uses letters and two-letter combinations.

Iowa also has a farm-to-market road system. The State of Iowa ( is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. Those roads are under county jurisdiction ^[3], but are eligible for state aid from a dedicated fund. In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority ^[4]

See also

List of Farm to Market Roads in Texas

External links

• Complete listing of Texas F.M. and R.M. roads
• Texas Department of Transportation

References