I’m Mark Oppel with an American Agriculture History Minute.
As grain production grew in the mid -1800s, it became evident farmers could not use all the crops they grew and didn’t want to be forced to sell for a lack of storage. Such was the case for an Iowa farmer in 1865. He bought a grain flat house in Conover, Iowa and expanded it to store even more grain. He was joined a year later by his younger brother Sam, and together the two built more flat storage houses for nearby farmers and opened a lumber yard. And so it began in 1868 for William and Sam Cargill.
That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.