Fertile Soil
In the United States, agriculture has always been important. The term
agriculture comes from the Greek word agros meaning "the soil" or "a field."
Agriculture begins with the land, and in Iowa the land is very fertile.
The land itself, like the people who live on it, has a history. Iowa's
fertile soil developed over thousands and thousands of years. As the prairie
grasses grew and died, their roots decayed making rich black dirt.
 It
was on this fertile land that Indian groups planted and harvested their
crops. It was also this fertile soil that attracted pioneer settlers to
the region we now call Iowa.
Introduction to Pioneer Farming Continued...
Photo used by permission from Gary D. Tonhouse. |
