Farming and Ranching

1
Farming and Ranching

• Farming After the Civil War
• p. 424 - 427

2
Farming on the Rise

• Farmers who moved to the drier parts of West
  Texas discovered that with the use of new
  techniques, they could produce profitable crops.
• Windmills pumped water from underground sources
  up to the surface for livestock and household
  use.
• Dry farming used a manner of plowing that left
  loose soil on top of the ground. The layers of
  loose soil kept water in the ground by slowing
  down the rate of evaporation.
• Railroads also quickened settlement by
  encouraging farmers to settle along their routes.

3
Texans Rely on King Cotton

• The most important crop grown in Texas was
  cotton.
• The typical Texan in the late 1800s was not a
  rancher but a cotton farmer.
• The cultivation of cotton had spread rapidly
  throughout the state.
• Railroads played an important role in cotton
  farming as tracks were built westward, farmers
  were provided with a cheap and efficient means of
  getting their cotton to market.
• Better markets offered the chance of higher
  profits.

4
Texans Rely on King Cotton

• Before the end of the century, Texas led the
  entire nation in honey production.
• Farmers also grew sugarcane and rice along the
  Gulf Coast.
• Elsewhere, they planted wheat, corn, and oats.
• Many farmers did not succeed because they were
  unfamiliar with the land of Texas, did not know
  how to use the land properly, or did not know
  what crops were best suited for the land.

5
Texans Rely on King Cotton

• Hardships included swarms of grasshoppers and
  droughts.
• If there was a surplus of a crop, it would result
  in lower prices.
• Although many farmers failed, they still paved
  the way for others who came later and who learned
  from and profited by their experiences.

6
The Tenant System Replaces Slavery

• A new system of farm labor developed after the
  end of the Civil War.
• After the Civil War, many smaller farms replaced
  the vast plantations.
• These small farms were sold to new owners, or the
  were rented to tenant farmers.
• Sharecroppers received a share of the value of
  the crop.
• Sharecropping or tenant farming meant an end to
  the evils of forced gang labor.

7
The Tenant System Replaces Slavery

• Many tenant farmers were former slaves who once
  had worked on the plantations
• Most African Americans were sharecroppers.
• Droughts, financial panics, overproduction of
  crops, problems with pests, and high charges by
  landlords often left tenants with no money.
• It was difficult to succeed financially.
• Sharecropping often put poor farmers into debt
  from which they were unable to escape.
• Farming brought large numbers of people to Texas
  because it required more people than ranching.
  This led to forming new cities.