UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories Farming in Wisconsin

Chapter The Earliest Farmers Page 1 -Native Americans have been farming in Wisconsin since the period after the glaciers melted ~10,000 BCE -Native Americans introduced Europeans to new farming techniques and new foods -Such as corn, squash, beans, rice and cranberries -Despite abundant furs and later lead mining, most [European] pioneer families came to farm UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories Farming in Wisconsin

Chapter The Breadbasket? Page 2 -Wisconsin was attractive due to its abundance of cheap, fertile land -Most pioneers settled in southern Wisconsin—along major waterways -European and Yankee wheat farmers enjoyed immediate success -Wheat quickly became the state’s #1 crop -Wheat required less time, energy and expense to plant, tend and harvest than did other crops UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories Farming in Wisconsin

Chapter The Breadbasket? (CONT.) Page 3 -The mechanization of farming implements (equipment) allowed farmers to plant more acres, faster—drastically changing Wisconsin’s landscape -By 1860, WI ranked 2 nd in the nation in wheat production (Illinois) -Farmers discovered that wheat quickly wore out soil -Western (plains) wheat farmers were now growing wheat causing Wisconsin wheat farmers to earn less for their harvest UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories Farming in Wisconsin

Chapter Page 4 UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories Farming in Wisconsin

Chapter Changing Our Ways Page 5 -In the late 1800s, state government and the University of Wisconsin worked with farmers to: 1. Increase yield/acre 2. Keep farmland productive -Rotate crops -Diversity in cattle raised 3. Introduce technology to the farm -Dairying came late to WI, due to a reliance on subsistence farming and the enormous amount of labor associate with dairying UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories Farming in Wisconsin

Chapter Cows and Feed Page 6 -Cows, needed to be:Housed Fed Milked -Feed was needed all year round -Food storage was a significant problem -The introduction of the silo to Wisconsin helped store food and prevent freezing UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories Farming in Wisconsin

Chapter Cows and Feed (CONT.) Page 7 -Silos helped store grains primarily -Grain provides livestock with more nutrients than does hay -Grain stores longer than hay UNIT #3 Farms, Forests and Factories Farming in Wisconsin AcresCrop Feeds # Cows Length of Time 2Hay1Winter 1 Grain (Corn, Oats, Barley) 3Winter