The Beginning of Farming in the United States

A farm is a place of cultivated land with the main purpose of growing food and other plants; it’s the heart of all agricultural production. In the United States the most productive farmland is in the upper Midwest region of the upper Great Plains. This is where corn, wheat, canola, soybeans and alfalfa are grown. The majority of U.S. farmers are land owners who lease their land to others for growing crops. Many of these farmers have been in the business for years.

Since there are many different types of farming including cattle, poultry, horticulture, fruit orchards and vegetables most farm equipment is specialized. Some examples of equipment used on a farm include combines, trenchers, fencing, sprayers, harvesters, ploughs, harrow, pump plows, outboard motors, combine harvesters, sheep roller, herders, bailers, treadmills, harvesters, spinning trolleys, and other farm equipment. Many farmers make their own equipment by combining used materials such as metal tubing, aluminum pipes and steel tubing, or else purchasing new farm equipment.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the tremendous growth in the farming industry has made large-scale, cottage industry farms, or “Factory Farms”, the norm in the United States. These Factory Farms mainly consists of ethanol refineries, meat packing, animal feed production, and confinement egg production. In addition, there are now over 500 United States Farms. The main products of farm produce are dairy products, fruits, vegetables, poultry, beef, honey, wheat, and corn.