Farming Technology

• Windmill


  Helped to deal with the lack of water
• Windmill invention

  1. Daniel Halladay invented a windmill in 1874 that could pump water out of deep wells

  2. Windmills needed constant maintaining

  3. Windmills could only pump water up to 30ft deep

  4. Problems with windmills were solved in the 1880's
• Dry Farming

  Dealt with the lack of water
• Timber Culture Act of 1873


  Act that gave homesteaders an additional 160 acres of free land if they agreed to plant trees on 40 acres of this
• Purpose of the Timber Culture Act

  • Trees were important as they were needed to supply wood for fuel and building material, and also acted as windbreaks
• Dry Farming technique

  1. After heavy rain, farmers would immediately plough their land so that a layer of dust covered the surface

  2. This helped preserve any moisture in the soil underneath
• Barbed Wire

  Used to fence off crops to protect them from animals and cattle
• There was little timber on the Great Plains, so barbed wire provided a cheaper and more effective solution
• Sulky Plough

  A steel plough pulled by horses that was able to plough through tough weeds and prairie grass on the Great Plains
• The land on the Great Plains was very difficult to plough
• Turkey Red Wheat

  Introduced to the Great Plains by Russian immigrants known as Mennonites in the 1870s
• Homesteaders realised that wheat was much easier to grow on the Plains than corn
• Homesteaders were soon able to export grain for profit
• Barbed wire

  • Used to fence off crops
  • Helped protect the crops from animals and cattle
  • Provided a cheaper and more effective solution than timber on the Great Plains
• Sulky plough

  • Steel plough pulled by horses
  • Able to plough through tough weeds and prairie grass on the difficult land of the Great Plains
• Dry farming

  After heavy rain, farmers would immediately plough their land so that a layer of dust covered the surface, helping preserve any moisture in the soil underneath
• Windmill

  • Helped deal with the lack of water
  • In 1874, Daniel Halladay invented a windmill that could pump water out of deep wells below the ground
  • However, they needed constant maintaining and could only pump water up to 30ft deep
  • Problems were solved in the 1880s
• New wheat

  • In the 1870s, Russian immigrants known as Mennonites settled on the Great Plains and introduced Turkey Red wheat
  • Homesteaders realised wheat was much easier to grow on the Plains than corn
  • Homesteaders were soon able to export grain for profit
• The land on the Great Plains was very difficult to plough, but the sulky plough was able to plough through tough weeds and prairie grass
• After heavy rain, farmers would immediately plough their land so that a layer of dust covered the surface, helping preserve any moisture in the soil underneath
• In 1874, Daniel Halladay invented a windmill that could pump water out of deep wells below the ground, but they needed constant maintaining and could only pump water up to 30ft deep
• In the 1870s, some Russian immigrants known as Mennonites settled on the Great Plains and introduced Turkey Red wheat, which homesteaders realised was much easier to grow than corn, allowing them to export grain for profit