Farming+in+the+BQC

Original Author: Kimberly Hochstein, A&S 195 SP12 Revision Author: The Quad City region has been home to rich fertile farm land for many years.In addition to this land our area also has the Mississippi River, Rock River, and several small creeks where fish can be found and wild game gravitate to for water. These resources provided even the earliest inhabitants of this land plenty of opportunity to sustain their own, and eventually, the dietary needs of others long before the advent of the modern grocery store.  The Aiaouez or Ioway tribe lived in the area where the Rock River and Mississippi River meet and they were cultivators of corn. Gradually though this tribe moved further west and at present time can be found in Tama, IA.The Sauk tribe also called this area home during parts of the year. They grew corn, squash, and beans. In addition to these crops the Sauk people would fish the waters, hunt small game as well as pursue buffalo to meet their needs. These tribes also would forage the land for fruit and berries in addition to the crops they tended. The famous Sauk warrior Black Hawk has been quoted as saying, “We always had plenty-our children never cried with hunger, nor our people were never in want.” (Quaife 33) By the early 1800’s these native tribes were slowly being pushed off of their land on the bank of the Mississippi in what is now Rock Island, Illinois further west into Iowa and Kansas. The Black Hawk Historic Site and Hauberg Indian Museum located at 1510 46th Ave in Rock Island, Ill offers visitors a fascinating look into what life was like here in those times as a Sauk Indian. This area was finally fully taken over by white settlers in 1832 after much fighting between Black Hawk and the government. By 1838 Scott County had a population of 1,252 people and by 1844 it had doubled that number (Lettermann 5).John B. Newhall, author of “Emigrant’s Guide for Iowa”, wrote that “within the sum of $400pioneers could set themselves up on an Iowa farm furnished with a comfortable log house, a good yoke of oxen, a horse, a cow, 12 sheep, etc…and farming utensils generally with 30 weeks provisions laid in until a small crop is raised for subsistence.”(Lettermann 8) These new settlers continued to farm the land as the natives had growing corn, wheat, and other crops. One of the most important vegetable crops grown was the potato. Potatoes kept well and could be stored through the areas hash winter. It has even been reported that “in times of dire necessity they were even pared and washed, and passed around instead of apples or other fruit when visitors came” (Lettermann 37). Root Cellars were commonly used to store food that could be kept through the winter such as apples, turnips, cabbages, potatoes, and pumpkins. A root cellar was built at the foot of a hill which was dug through, about 18 feet long and six feet high, and walled up about seven feet from the ground then roofed and covered with sod with its door facing south. Being so far underground it would not freeze (Lettermann 40). These early settlers also brought with them cattle and hogs and raised these animals in addition to their vegetable and grain crops. Cattle were primarily used for milking and as work animals. The pigs and chickens were raised for their meat (Lettermann 56).Being more industrious than those preceding them, the European farmers made use of the Mighty Mississippi to ship their excess crops down to New Orleans. It wasn’t too long though before this area began to investigate the possibilities that railways could hold. Shipping via water way was dependent on weather and once the water ways froze so did movement of the farmer’s crops for the year.This would no longer be an issue if the farmers could move their goods via railway. Settlers from the area knew that if they could get their goods shipped through Chicago to the coast they would then open themselves up to a world market. It was soon after this railroad boom that the areas agricultural practicesslowly began their industrial transformations (Shweider). When the railway went in it brought with it a man named John Deere. Deere had been operating a small shop in Grand Detour, Illinois, but when the railroad came it bypassed Grand Detour and Deere decided it to be a good business move to relocate his shop to Moline. He formed a partnership with John Gould and Robert Tate and by the end of 1848 Deere and his partners had built 700 plows. Production had doubled just over ten years later in 1859. In 1861 the two bottom gang made its way into production and this further eased the burden of work on the farmer. With a simple walking plow between one and one and a half acres a day could be covered, but with a gang five acres could be covered in a day (Drasche 5). Despite the introduction of more complex farm machinery farm living was still a lot of work for both the farmer and his wife. The labor of a farm family was year round with the bulk being done in spring and summer. Springtime brought about planting fields and gardens and caring for baby chicks, calves, and piglets. With summer came harvesting and canning of the vegetables and fruits that were grown on the farm. Depending on whether or not the family had a bumper crop that season this canning could last all the way into the fall. Through their hard work the farm family of this era could produce enough food to meet most of their family’s needs for the year (Shweider). Up to this point wheat was the main crop of the farm. Wheat grew very well in the grassy plains states, but another grass crop, corn, soon became touted as the one to prosper by. Future agriculture secretary “Tama Jim” Wilson was a forward thinking farmer in Iowa who encouraged his fellow farmers to focus on growing corn that they could then use to raise hog and cattle on. His philosophy on corn was the catalyst for the monoculture farming that is done in our area today.When the United States entered World War I in 1914 farmers began to increase in prosperity. They were considered to be doing their patriotic duties as Americans by increasing the productivity on their farms. In turn the amount of crops increased as did the amount of livestock that the farmers of this area raised. No longer were they simply raising food for their family or for those in their surrounding community. Now they were helping the world! Farmers soon saw a dip in the prices their crops were bringing them after then end of World War I. Corn was fetching $1.61 a bushel in Iowa in May of 1920 and hogs $13.50 per hundred. By years end corn was only $0.49 a bushel and hogs had dropped all the way down to $8.30 per hundred. Hard times were ongoing though and by December of 1921 corn was only fetching a measly $0.31 a bushel. Wheat farmers suffered as well though not nearly as much as corn and hog farmers. In 1919 wheat averaged $2.16 a bushel and was down to $1.03 a bushel by years end in 1921(Pioneer 14-15). Average yields in the 1920’s were around 20 bushels per acre (Pollan). This meant that for a farmer who had 50 acres dedicated to corn he went from being able to make $1,610 for his trouble to only $310.Iowa farmers were desperately missing the war time subsidies and many of them were having trouble making ends meet from the debt that they had accrued during earlier war time prosperity. These hard times carried over into the 1930s as the Great Depression locked the nation down in its fierce grips. Prices continued to plummet for Iowa farmers with corn bottoming out at $0.10 a bushel, so some Iowa farmers decided to “strike” if you will. They formed The Farm Holiday Association and collectively tried to withhold their crops from the market in an effort to drive prices higher. This movement did not do much for their cause and prices increased only marginally. Farmers of this area finally found the relief they needed in 1933 when native Iowan, Henry A Wallace, was appointed Secretary of Agriculture under Franklin Delano Roosevelt and began work on new farm policy. Under this administration the Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed. Total recovery would unfortunately not be felt by area farmers until into the 1940s though (Shweider). From native peoples to the melting pot that the area has now become home to- the Quad Cities has always been home to rich farmland. The face of this land, and the practices used to cultivate it, have changed dramatically over the years, but it is still a prime spot for growing, enjoying, and transporting its delightful bounty. Drasche, Hiram M., “The Impact of John Deere’s Plows” Illinois Periodicals Online.Ed. Brian Conant.Northern Illinois University Libraries. 6 April 2012.  Lettermann, Edward J., Pioneer Farming in Iowa. Des Moines. Living History Farms Inc., 1972. Print. Pioneer Hybrid Corn Company. Midwest Farming as Portrayed by a Selection From Ding’s Cartoons. Des Moines. 1960. Print. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma. New York. Penguin Press, 2006. N. Pag. Kindle Fire Quaife, Milo Milton, ed. Life of Black Hawk (New York City; Dover Publications, 1994), page 33. Print Schwieder, Prof. Dorothy, “History of Iowa”, Iowa Official Register, Iowa State University. 6 April 2012. <http://publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/7-1.html>
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Farming in our Area from Native Tribes to Mid Twentieth Century **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Introduction **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Native Tribes **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Early European Settlers **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Arrival of John Deere **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Turn of the Century Farm Life **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Post World War I **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Conclusion **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Works Cited **

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