TECHNOLOGIES
"Since the Bonanza days Minnesota [and North Dakota] agriculture has always ranked high in mechanization... It was never hoe-and-pitch-fork farmers. The Bonanzas started with big machines and the state agriculture has remained highly mechanized..."
-Hiram M. Drache: "The Day of the Bonanza"
-Hiram M. Drache: "The Day of the Bonanza"
Another invention, the mechanical reaper, freed workers from back-breaking labor. Invented by Cyrus McCormick, the reaper was used to cut standing wheat and sweep it onto platforms. Men standing on these platforms would separate the wheat into piles. The reaper was so efficient that it could do the work of 5 men. |
In order for Bonanza Farms to be efficient, local managers used new agricultural technologies. One such invention, the steel plow, was invented by John Deere. Originally, farmers on the East Coast used wooden plows, but these weren't able to plow the tough soil of the Red River Valley without breaking. Thus, in order to break up the soil of their massive farms, workers used steel plows, which were much more capable than their wooden counterparts.
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