American Agriculture History Minute: Settling and Farming the Plains

I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute.

Iowa is located where the great eastern forests and the prairies of the western United States met. There’s not a straight line where trees stopped and grass took over, but it is in Iowa where trees finally gave way to the endless miles of the Great Prairie.

Settlers on the prairie faced a different set of problems than those in forested lands. Breaking up the matted root system of the prairie sod required large, strong plows pulled by more than two or three oxen. As settlers moved further out on the plains, there was no wood for homes, no wood for fences or fuel.

That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.