农业化工 是应用化学的一个分支，它用农产品生产工业产品。"农业化工"这个词的英文"chemurgy"是化学家William J. Hale创造的，1934年第一次正式公开发表是在他的著作《农业化工》（The Farm Chemurgic）。二十世纪早期，农业化工有了些许发展。例如，很多产品都是用纤维素做的，像毛刷、电影胶片。二十世纪二十年代伊始，William J. Hale、农业记者Wheeler McMillen等一些著名的美国人，开始倡议农民与工业之间要有更广泛的联系。1930年左右，汽车制造商Henry Ford开始试验农产品在汽车工业中的潜力，很快就发现大豆前景光明。福特汽车公司把大豆应用到变档手柄和喇叭按钮之类的部件中。

Chemurgy is a branch of applied chemistry that is concerned with preparing industrial products from agricultural raw materials. The word "chemurgy" was coined by chemist William J. Hale and first publicized in his 1934 book The Farm Chemurgic, the concept was mildly well-developed by the early years of the 20th century. For example, a number of products, including brushes and motion picture film, were made from cellulose. Beginning in the 1920s, some prominent Americans began to advocate a more widespread link between farmers and industry. Among them were William J. Hale and agricultural journalist Wheeler McMillen.