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During the lecture the Farmer and the Man, we went over various topics such as facts and fictional events that took place on the plains all dealing with agriculture. First we discussed the different plants on the plains and how it once was known as a desert land. We then learned of the farmer and how things have changed from the first homesteads until now. This part of the lecture is most interesting to me. Some things we went into detail with were the most common crop, which was wheat, from winter wheat to spring wheat, and other things like the basics of farming then compared to now. One of those things included how to keep the crops alive and the different techniques farmers used. One such practice was dry farming, where they conserved as much moisture over the year as possible. Other things that came about were windmills, and well that are still used today in order to preserve resources. They also came up with surface irrigation in order to keep their crops hydrated. Some of these methods seem quite clever compared to things we do now, and most are things we still used after all the technology we have to day. Farmers were obligated to think this way because of the minimal resources that were available for farming back then.
I think it was interesting that during the lecture Isern talked about what the settlers had left in order to pursue a life on the frontier. They didn’t know what they were getting into but they dedication and love for the land paid off in the end and have made the plains cultures what they are today.