Modifying the Plow
Growing Food
Farmers need to plant seeds to grow food. To do this, they must first plow the field. When farmers plow the field, they break through and loosen the soil to prepare it for the seeds to grow. This is not an easy task because the soil can be tough and hard, or sticky. When soil is loosened, the topsoil can blow away, leading to soil erosion. Soil is a precious natural resource, and farmers must take steps to protect it.
Plows
Long ago, farmers used to plow fields by pushing a heavy tool called a hand-wheeled plow. It was very hard work and took 96 hours to plow one acre of land. Later, farmers used a wooden plow pulled by a team of oxen or horses, and this made it quicker - only 24 hours to plow one acre. Then, a man named John Deere made a new plow out of strong steel in 1837. This steel plow was much better than the old ones and made it possible for farmers to plow an acre of land in just 5 to 8 hours.
Before the steel plow was invented, farmers had to use a wooden plow with a cast iron blade. But the soil was sticky and kept sticking to the blade. So they had to stop every few feet to clean the blade. One day, a blacksmith named John Deere saw a broken steel saw blade that was slick and polished from use. He thought that soil might not stick to it. So he built a steel plow blade to use on the farm. The new steel blade was better because the soil did not stick to it, and farmers could plow their fields faster. John Deere started selling his steel plows, and by 1855, he was selling 13,000 of them a year.
Disk Plows
Disk plows have three or more disks on the same axle, which are sloped backward. The
disks are each curved inward and turn in a circle as they are pulled over the ground. Disk
plows are used on rough ground, on dry ground, or to plow a field with stubble of plants
that were left behind by a combine.
Chisel Plow
The chisel plow has many curved, pointed shanks made of steel on a straight bar. The chisel plow can cut into the soil only a few inches or up to three feet deep. Chisel plows are often used to till the soil because they only cut through the soil, but do not turn it over. The chisel plow leaves pieces of previous crops, such as roots and stems, in the field. This helps prevent erosion of the soil, by keeping the soil from blowing away. Fred Hoeme, a farmer living near Hooker, Oklahoma, invented the chisel plow in 1933, during the Dust Bowl because he was concerned about wind erosion.
Before the Dust Bowl, tall prairie grass protected the topsoil in Oklahoma. Farmers who lived in the prairies, plowed through the deep-rooted grass and planted wheat. Farmers believed that soil needed to be completely broken apart to make it easier for seeds to grow. They would plow fields and break up all of the dirt clods in the field. The goal was to make the soil as fine as possible.
The plow would lift the soil up, break the clods apart, and turn the soil back over as it fell back to the ground. It would also create furrows, long, narrow cuts in the ground, for planting the seeds. In the 1920’s and early 1930’s, farmers would often plow a field in the early summer, right after they harvested a crop. However, they would not plant a crop again until fall. This left the fine soil free to blow in the wind, because there were no plants to hold it in place.
In the 1930’s a drought swept across the plains. No rain, hot sun, and heavy winds caused soil that had been plowed to blow away. The result was the Dust Bowl and the erosion of soil. When the drought started in 1930, it killed off the wheat. When the wheat died, its roots no longer held the soil in place. High winds blew the topsoil away and left only sand behind. Huge dust storms blew millions of tons of soil into the air. The Oklahoma panhandle was hit the worst. The drought lasted for ten years.
Fred Hoeme was a farmer living near Hooker, Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. He was concerned about wind erosion. Hoeme noticed that road equipment kicked up dirt clods that didn’t blow around in the wind like the soil in the plowed fields. This led him to invent the chisel plow. The chisel plow left pieces of previous crops, such as roots and stems, in the field. This helped prevent erosion of the soil, by keeping the soil from blowing away. It also kept the soil from creating a hard surface crust when soil dried. This helped the soil take in and hold rainwater. This was important because very little rain fell.
Hoeme and his sons built and sold about 2,000 plows from their farm. In 1938, W.T. Graham bought the rights to make and sell the plows. Graham modified the plow and advertised it as the Graham-Hoeme Plow, the “Plow to Save the Plains.” It was sold worldwide. By the 1950s, about half of all Great Plain farmers owned chisel plows. The widespread use helped control wind erosion during the seven-year drought of the 1950s. In 2000 a plaque was installed in Hoeme’s honor at the Williams Homesteaders Park in Hooker.
Gr3 SS Learn 2.13 Farming on the Great Plains
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Transcript
Modifying the Plow
Growing Food
Farmers need to plant seeds to grow food. To do this, they must first plow the field. When farmers plow the field, they break through and loosen the soil to prepare it for the seeds to grow. This is not an easy task because the soil can be tough and hard, or sticky. When soil is loosened, the topsoil can blow away, leading to soil erosion. Soil is a precious natural resource, and farmers must take steps to protect it.
Plows
Long ago, farmers used to plow fields by pushing a heavy tool called a hand-wheeled plow. It was very hard work and took 96 hours to plow one acre of land. Later, farmers used a wooden plow pulled by a team of oxen or horses, and this made it quicker - only 24 hours to plow one acre. Then, a man named John Deere made a new plow out of strong steel in 1837. This steel plow was much better than the old ones and made it possible for farmers to plow an acre of land in just 5 to 8 hours.
Before the steel plow was invented, farmers had to use a wooden plow with a cast iron blade. But the soil was sticky and kept sticking to the blade. So they had to stop every few feet to clean the blade. One day, a blacksmith named John Deere saw a broken steel saw blade that was slick and polished from use. He thought that soil might not stick to it. So he built a steel plow blade to use on the farm. The new steel blade was better because the soil did not stick to it, and farmers could plow their fields faster. John Deere started selling his steel plows, and by 1855, he was selling 13,000 of them a year.
Disk Plows
Disk plows have three or more disks on the same axle, which are sloped backward. The disks are each curved inward and turn in a circle as they are pulled over the ground. Disk plows are used on rough ground, on dry ground, or to plow a field with stubble of plants that were left behind by a combine.
Chisel Plow
The chisel plow has many curved, pointed shanks made of steel on a straight bar. The chisel plow can cut into the soil only a few inches or up to three feet deep. Chisel plows are often used to till the soil because they only cut through the soil, but do not turn it over. The chisel plow leaves pieces of previous crops, such as roots and stems, in the field. This helps prevent erosion of the soil, by keeping the soil from blowing away. Fred Hoeme, a farmer living near Hooker, Oklahoma, invented the chisel plow in 1933, during the Dust Bowl because he was concerned about wind erosion.
Before the Dust Bowl, tall prairie grass protected the topsoil in Oklahoma. Farmers who lived in the prairies, plowed through the deep-rooted grass and planted wheat. Farmers believed that soil needed to be completely broken apart to make it easier for seeds to grow. They would plow fields and break up all of the dirt clods in the field. The goal was to make the soil as fine as possible. The plow would lift the soil up, break the clods apart, and turn the soil back over as it fell back to the ground. It would also create furrows, long, narrow cuts in the ground, for planting the seeds. In the 1920’s and early 1930’s, farmers would often plow a field in the early summer, right after they harvested a crop. However, they would not plant a crop again until fall. This left the fine soil free to blow in the wind, because there were no plants to hold it in place. In the 1930’s a drought swept across the plains. No rain, hot sun, and heavy winds caused soil that had been plowed to blow away. The result was the Dust Bowl and the erosion of soil. When the drought started in 1930, it killed off the wheat. When the wheat died, its roots no longer held the soil in place. High winds blew the topsoil away and left only sand behind. Huge dust storms blew millions of tons of soil into the air. The Oklahoma panhandle was hit the worst. The drought lasted for ten years. Fred Hoeme was a farmer living near Hooker, Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. He was concerned about wind erosion. Hoeme noticed that road equipment kicked up dirt clods that didn’t blow around in the wind like the soil in the plowed fields. This led him to invent the chisel plow. The chisel plow left pieces of previous crops, such as roots and stems, in the field. This helped prevent erosion of the soil, by keeping the soil from blowing away. It also kept the soil from creating a hard surface crust when soil dried. This helped the soil take in and hold rainwater. This was important because very little rain fell. Hoeme and his sons built and sold about 2,000 plows from their farm. In 1938, W.T. Graham bought the rights to make and sell the plows. Graham modified the plow and advertised it as the Graham-Hoeme Plow, the “Plow to Save the Plains.” It was sold worldwide. By the 1950s, about half of all Great Plain farmers owned chisel plows. The widespread use helped control wind erosion during the seven-year drought of the 1950s. In 2000 a plaque was installed in Hoeme’s honor at the Williams Homesteaders Park in Hooker.