Agriculture and the Environment
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Raising livestock and growing crops requires year-round work and specialized knowledge and skills. Farm families used tools to reduce the physical strain of daily and seasonal work. The shift from animal to mechanical power further transformed farm life and raised questions about sustainable practices. Understanding changing relationships between humans, plants, animals, and the environment begins by exploring historic farming technologies.
Man and Child Using a Mule-Drawn Reaper, 1875-1900
Children worked alongside adults to feed livestock and complete other daily farm chores. They also teamed up to complete seasonal tasks. This man and child pose with a team of mules hitched to a reaper in their farmyard, on the way to their grain field.
View Artifact"The Great Minneapolis Line: The Whole Season without a Hitch," 1917 - 1
Manufacturers appealed to farm families by featuring them in advertising. This farmer, two children, and the farm dog watch the crew operate a thresher. Separating kernels of grain from the straw was the last step in preparing the crop for market. While most farmers could not afford expensive machines, they could hire crews with the best threshers.
View ArtifactWagonloads of Hops in Sacks Being Taken to a Hop-Drying Plant in Oregon, 1923-1924
Harvest time was a busy and stressful time for farm families. They had to get crops to market in the best condition to earn the best prices. Each step in the process of hop harvesting required careful handling. Laborers picked the crop at the precise time, and drivers lined up at drying facilities to offload their precious cargo bound for breweries.
View ArtifactPrint Showing Norman Rockwell's "Model T on the Farm" - 1
Farm families assessed the merits of the Model T, as this Norman Rockwell print depicts, but curiosity coexisted with skepticism. Automobiles shortened travel time but raised questions about who would pay for roads and whether horses or horse-less carriages had the right of way. Intrepid farmers made their autos more useful by modifying them into stationary engines to run sawmills, corn shellers, and other equipment.
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