Yesterday I examined a brief and general history of farming in
America. Today I want to take a brief look at some of the common
practices in farming, both historically and in use today. Now
different parts of the country and world have very different
farming methods. Farmers in Caribou, Maine are going to do
things differently than farmers in Florida or Oklahoma or
California. For illustrative purposes and because I am most
familiar with the process, I will be looking at farming
practices in Upstate New York. The Northeast and New York in
particular the farm, forest and bird issues are acute. In
colonial times farming was largely done by hand. Farms were
typically small, but people only grew to support themselves. Any
extra was sold at market to help purchase other supplies. Much
of the planting, harvesting, storage etc. Was done by hand,
perhaps with the assistance of an Ox team or draft horse. By the
end of the 18th century, mechanical farming was taking hold. As
a result farmers were able to clear and farm