In this article, we trace the historical development of analytical (quantitative) research techniques used in empirical agricultural economics research by examining the articles in volumes of the Journal of Farm Economics (JFE) and the American Journal of Agricultural Economics (AJAE) from its inception in 1919 to 1990, a total of 72 years. We first determine for each article whether or not empirical results were obtained and then identified the particular quantitative technique employed in order to obtain the results. Then articles are classified with respect to the type of quantitative technique employed. As we reviewed the literature, we attempt to identify studies which marked the first appearance of a particular quantitative method in a JFE or AJAE article. We analyze key trends and illustrate them with a series charts to reveal changes in quantitative techniques used by researchers in writing for the JFE and AJAE. Finally, we explore the implications of these trends for future agricultural economics research.