Changes in the Farming Industry

• Dry farming

  Dry farming was a new technique of preparing the soil so that it trapped rainwater under the surface. It worked well for wheat. It was popular, but droughts in the 1890s meant it didn’t become widespread until the 1900s.

  
• Wind pumps

  Wind pumps solved one of the biggest problems on the Plains: the lack of water. They pumped water from deep underground.

  Daniel Halladay designed a windmill that swung round automatically as the wind changed direction.

  Windmills needed lots of maintenance and early wooden ones weren’t very strong. Steel windmills (1880s) were much more effective.

  
• Mechanisation

  New inventions helped make farming easier. Machines like the steel plough and seed drill helped with dry farming. Farming was made faster and easier, so farmers could farm larger areas.

  Farmers became more successful and bought more and more industrial products – this boosted the economy.

  
• Barbed wire

  Barbed wire (1874) was used to fence off homesteaders’ claims, protect crops and stop livestock roaming. Early types rusted and broke, but these issues were fixed by the 1880s.