American Agriculture History Minute: Early Colonists Learned the Hard Way About Soil Stewardship

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

Early colonists had to learn the hard way about soil stewardship. The practices associated with keeping livestock also contributed to deterioration of the land.

Colonists would cut down trees, allow their cattle and livestock to graze freely in the forest areas, but never plant more trees. The animals trampled and tore up the ground so much so that long term destruction took place.

Soil exhaustion, a huge problem back then. Farming with oxen did allow colonists to farm more land, but it also increased erosion and decreased soil fertility.

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