What technological invention most increased grain production and was essential to the success of western farmers?

by Michael Hill, 2006
Additional research provided by Peter A. Coclanis, Stephanie Hall, Will M. Heiser, Charles LeCount, and W.W. Yeargin.

Part i: Overview; Part ii: Improvements in Farming Technology and the Burgeoning of "Mega Farms"; Part iii: Changes in the Agricultural Labor Force; Part iv: Field Crops, Livestock, and Other Agricultural Products; Part v: References

Part ii: Improvements in Farming Technology and the Burgeoning of "Mega Farms"

The twentieth century brought further efforts to assist farm families. Agricultural extension agents in every county taught farmers the principles of crop rotation, deeper plowing, improved seed selection, crop diversity, and the correct use of fertilizer. Rural youths were served by a host of organizations. Governor O. Max Gardner, elected in 1928, stated in his inaugural address that ‘‘one of the major aims of my administration shall be to improve agricultural and rural life in North Carolina.’’ This led to a proliferation of experiment stations designed to give farmers up-to-date information about a variety of subjects. The modern-day Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services offers an array of educational and professional services to farmers in North Carolina.

North Carolinians in some cases were slow to adapt to new discoveries and inventions that promised more efficient and productive farms, choosing instead to continue traditional methods. Many early farmers relied on hoes and other hand tools—rather than plows—to till the land. Early plows were expensive, inefficient, and frustrating to maintain. Some farmers believed that the iron points and moldboards poisoned the soil. Many large-scale planters rejected plows, claiming that their slaves and other laborers often ruined them by improper use.

Improvements in iron and steel technology in the mid-nineteenth century finally produced affordable and properly shaped plows that reduced drag and were self-cleaning. Around the outbreak of the Civil War, a revolution in plowing began to take place, and new designs—including ‘‘gang’’ plows, with several working plow bottoms, and steampowered riding or ‘‘sulky’’ plows—enabled farmers to plow larger fields more quickly and efficiently.

Mechanization and improved fertilization and cropgrowing techniques shaped the agricultural revolution of the twentieth century. In 1924 the invention of the Farmall rowcrop tractor led to further advancements in farming methods and production. Now tractors could be used not only to plow fields but also to draw cultivators through standing crops. The use of tractors led to greater use of larger tillage implements, such as disk harrows for field preparation and rotary hoes for cultivation. The widespread use of tractors also significantly reduced the need for beasts of burden, although many growers continued to depend on walking plows and other simple, old-fashioned implements to work their farms.

By the mid-twentieth century, commercial agriculture on huge ‘‘mega farms’’ with high-tech equipment began to supplant individual, family-owned farming in North Carolina. Yields for crops such as corn, tobacco, wheat, cotton, soybeans, and peanuts rose dramatically with improved fertilization and hybrid development, requiring much less land and fewer workers. This trend continued through the end of the twentieth century, with the number of farms in the state dropping from 301,000 in 1950 to fewer than 60,000 in 2000. North Carolina farms continue to be lost at the rate of 2,000 per year.

Decades, and in some cases centuries, of plowing fields had devastating effects in North Carolina. Years of spring and fall plowing combined with excessive cultivating practices created severe soil erosion and infertility. Although efforts to combat soil erosion began in earnest in the 1930s, it was not until the 1980s, with the introduction of new tillage equipment and methods, that centuries-old plows were wholly replaced by less invasive implements. ‘‘No-till’’ or ‘‘minimum-till’’ agriculture was developed to reduce soil erosion, chemical runoff, and the use of costly fuel. No longer is the soil literally turned over, spring and fall, exposing it to erosion-causing wind and rain. Some modern farmers only chisel their fields once a year in preparation for planting, and no-till planters do not require any soil preparation. But tobacco farmers still rely to a greater extent on moldboard plows to prepare their characteristic ridged fields than do farmers who grow corn, soybeans, and cotton.

Modern farming and the associated practices of drainage, fertilization, mechanization, and mass production for special markets have produced a revolutionary efficiency in North Carolina agriculture. Although the state has above-average rainfall, there are critical periods when several weeks of drought may determine success or failure for the season’s crops. Irrigation on its current scale is relatively new to the state, largely a phenomenon of the last decades of the twentieth century. In the United States as a whole, more water is withdrawn from rivers, lakes, and wells for agriculture than for any other use. About 47 percent of these freshwater withdrawals are for irrigation, using methods such as coordinated sprinkler systems, trickle-and-drip systems, and underground pipes.

Keep reading >> Part iii: Changes in the Agricultural Labor Force 

Technological innovations have greatly shaped agriculture throughout time. From the creation of the plow to the global positioning system (GPS) driven precision farming equipment, humans have developed new ways to make farming more efficient and grow more food. We are constantly working to find new ways to irrigate crops or breed more disease resistant varieties. These iterations are key to feeding the ever-expanding global population with the decreasing freshwater supply.

Explore developments in agricultural technology and its impacts on civilization with this curated collection of classroom resources.

Subjects

Earth Science, Geography

Between the years 1000 and 1300, the population of Europe roughly doubled, reflecting a remarkable combination of factors and coincidences that removed the brakes slowing down the engines of growth.

During the High Middle Ages, certain factors that had previously acted as brakes on population growth and kept levels low were taken off, creating room for the population to surge. These demographic breaks included the bubonic plague and foreign invasions.

This is a transcript from the video series The High Middle Ages. Watch it now, on Wondrium.

In addition to these brakes, which disappeared by 1000, some forces propelled the population upwards, which we call the engines.

One engine, in particular, had a huge impact: technological change.

The High Middle Ages, and especially the Middle Ages, is not known as a period of substantial technological change. The best and brightest did not launch internet startup companies. They went into theology, a field with limited practical application.

Because the line between dearth and having enough to eat was so thin in the Middle Ages, seemingly humble technological changes had a substantial impact on the ability of Europeans to feed themselves. Coincidentally, before the Middle Ages, there were developments in farming technology. New types of farm implements and new methods were introduced from outside of Europe.

These innovations were borrowed rather than invented by Europeans. They spread to Europe in the 8th and 9th centuries, but their impact was felt only during the High Middle Ages.

Technological changes allowed Europeans to increase the yields—the amount a farmer could get back for each grain they planted. One estimate was that European grain yields around 1000 were at the ratio of two to one. That return rate was problematic, as it meant half of the food grown would go back into the soil the next year. Estimates suggest that by 1300, grain yields were up to a ratio of four to one, which would have provided a slight margin, should one or two years meet with crop failure.

Not only were Europeans able to increase yields by getting more from the cultivated land, but new technology allowed Europeans to bring more land than ever under cultivation. Thus, there was more farmland and the farmland that existed produced more.

Learn more about how small innovations had a big impact

Revolutionizing Farming Plows

Perhaps the most important technological change that revolutionized farming in medieval Europe was the heavy plow. When the Romans had spread out across the European continent, they brought those aspects of life that were familiar to them with them: baths, gladiator shows, writing, cities, and their farming technology, as well.

The Romans, being a Mediterranean people, had used a type of plow called the “light scratch plow.” The light scratch plow was little more than a sharpened piece of wood that dragged along behind one’s plow animals.

This plow was ideal for Mediterranean soils because it was light and barely scratched the surface of the soil. Due to lower rainfall totals, Mediterranean soils are light and dry, susceptible to the danger of soil erosion; the light scratch plow made perfect sense for such a climate. Digging deeply would disturb the soil, loosen it too much and allow what moisture there was in the soil to escape.

Unfortunately, the light scratch plow was not well-suited for the soils and climate of northern Europe, where it was damp and drizzly all the time, with heavy, waterlogged, clay soils.

The problem with northern European soils—potentially the most fertile in Europe if farmed correctly—is getting the water out and aerating the soil properly, so that you can receive a higher return on planted crops. The scratch plow was the wrong tool for the job.

The heavy plow, which probably spread from Eastern Europe to Europe during the 8th and 9th centuries, enabled Europeans to tap into the vast resources of northern Europe. The heavy plow was so large and cumbersome that it required wheels to be moved and had an iron plowshare, rather than a piece of wood, that cut deep into the earth.

Behind the plowshare, a piece of wood called the moldboard took the cut earth, scooped it, and flipped it over, enabling it to drain properly.

Using a heavy plow to effectively aerate the soils of northern Europe increased production yield. The increasingly effective use of farming techniques was one of the reasons that agricultural production went up: Higher agricultural production meant higher population levels.

Learn more about how the quality of life for working peasants changed between 1000 and 1300

The Padded Horse Collar: A Novel Invention

In addition to the heavy plow, the use of the padded horse collar was an important development.

The Romans had used oxen as plow animals. Oxen had the advantage of being dumb and strong, but the disadvantage of being slow. The Romans had hooked up their light scratch plows to oxen using a yoke, a piece of wood that rested on the shoulders of the oxen, with a strap that came across the chest.

Horses were another kind of animal that were just as strong as oxen, but much smarter and faster. If you were able to use one, you could plow more land in the same amount of time.

The problem, however, was the Roman yoke could not be used on a horse. Because of the angle of the horse’s neck, the strap did not come across the chest, but rather across the throat, cutting off the horse’s air supply. It decreased productivity immensely and it resulted in the animal’s death.

The padded horse collar, appearing in the 8th and 9th centuries, consisted of a supple, round piece of leather that was slipped over the head of the horse down to the horse’s shoulders, allowing the horse to breathe.

Once medieval farmers used horses to pull the heavy plows, not only were northern European soils cut more effectively, but farmers were able to plow more land than had ever been plowed before.

Learn more about how townspeople’s mindset changed during the High Middle Ages

Introducing the Water Mill to European Farmers

A third technological change was the adoption of the watermill. The watermill was a little different than the other two technological changes, as Romans knew about watermills.

There were few watermills, and the Romans didn’t build them often.
The watermill’s great advantage was that it harnessed water, an inanimate source of energy, to do the difficult work of grinding grain. The Romans preferred the use of hand mills, a time-consuming and laborious method.

One poor, usually enslaved individual, would stand at the mill turning a handle around and around. Some historians suggest that the Romans refused to build watermills because slaves were readily available and easily replaced. It made more economic sense to simply buy more slaves as they wore out than to build a complicated watermill.

As slavery died out within Western Europe, a profusion of watermills were built, especially in the 11th century, where every river in Europe had them built if they could be used.

The watermill liberated human beings from the task of grinding grain. That labor could be put to other uses, including clearing forests and bringing other lands under cultivation.

Common Questions About Medieval Farming Technology

Q: Was there a formal name for the medieval farming system?

The medieval farming system was called an open-field system where each village divided several hundred acres into narrow strips cultivated by peasant serfs.

Q: What were the favored crops grown during the medieval period?

Q: The most important European crops grown during the medieval period were barley, oats, rye, and wheat. Various legumes were grown along with apples, cherries, and some hearty vegetables such as cabbage and onions.

Q: What technological inventions changed farming in medieval times?

The three-crop rotation was the biggest and best change in farming during medieval times, where three strips of the field would be used in rotation to keep fecund soil. Vertical windmills and vastly improved water mills helped as well.

Q: What tools were available to farmers in medieval times?

The tools available to medieval farmers were rather crude and rudimentary. They consisted of the ax, the moldboard plow, flails, and hay forks.

This article was updated on October 29, 2019

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