2. Farming in the Great
Plains
• Homestead Act of 1862
• 160 acre farm for $10‐ must reside or farm land
for 5 years
• Speculators took advantage
• Technology
• Iron‐encased, drilled well
• Barbed wire 1874
• Mechanical binder‐ tied grain into sheaves
• 1880s: 2 people horses (20 acres)
3. Farming in the Great
Plains
• Railroads
• Most important factor in promoting settlement
• Advertised settlement in Europe
• Defeating the “Great American Desert”
• “Rain follows the plow”