NATS 1560 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Potassium Nitrate, Green Manure, Potassium Carbonate
11 Dec 2017
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Cost a lot, so farmers had to borrow. Danger of borrowing is that a farmer never knows whether the harvest will be good and whether the crop will fetch a good price on the market. Crop failures mean no money, but the mortgage would still be due --- many families lost their farms in the great depression. Farming more efficient = fewer hands required; so looking for work in the city. Farms were bought by nearby larger farms, along with machinery, some fields were rented. By the 1950s, farm operations of more than 1000 acres in the east became common; even larger operations - mostly for grain growing - became the norm in the west. Family farm continues to move towards extinction, while the corporate farm is increasing through purchase and lease of land. Makes a profit by using machinery and farming huge areas -- economists economy of scale.
