Archaeologists have found that agriculture has been a part of the world’s history since the existence of early civilizations. It is also an important part of Stearns County’s past, present and future. Stearns County is the largest dairy producing county in Minnesota, ranking 19th among the nation’s top twenty dairy producers. Today’s dairy farmers use computer, mechanical and chemical technology to make their operations efficient and successful. But dairy farming in Stearns County didn’t start out this way. In fact, dairy farming has undergone many changes since it came to Stearns County in the 1850s.

		Lee Jr. and Doris A. Wentland farm, Holdingford, MN, 1989.

Early farming was called subsistence farming. Immigrant settlers came to the area with dreams of owning and living off the land. Along with one or two cows, they often came with a team of oxen to do heavy work such as dragging tree stumps and pulling the plow through hard prairie soil. The cows provided milk for drinking, cooking, butter churning, and cheese-making. With hard work and determination, a family could provide all the essentials it needed to survive. Until the 1890s, this type of farming existed in Stearns County and other newly settled areas of the United States.

What caused this to change? Technology came to the frontier. Farm machinery and the steam engine increased the amount of grain and milk a farmer could produce. Farmers began to increase the number of cows in their herds and convert more land into grain fields. Growing communities provided a market for the farmer’s milk, butter and cheese. All of a sudden farmers were not only providing for their own families, but for residents of towns and cities as well. As land and water transportation expanded and improved, farm products could be marketed to a broader community. Dairy farming became a major operation in Stearns County and in the state of Minnesota.

			Meire Grove Co-operative Creamery, Meire Grove, MN, built in 1928. Photo taken in 1980.

As the dairy industry grew in Stearns County, so did other farm-related businesses. Creameries opened around the county. This business purchased cream from farmers, turned it into butter and other dairy products, and placed these products in the market place. Cream, the fatty part of unprocessed milk that rises to the top, had to be separated from the milk by the farmer before it could be sold to the Creamery. This was a time consuming process when done by hand until the invention of the cream separator. Brought to Stearns County in the early 1900s, this European invention gave farmers a quick way to separate cream from the milk. It allowed farmers to get their cream to the Creamery faster.

Dairy, poultry, beef, hog, and grain production on Stearns County farms have given the area a strong agricultural reputation. In spite of the success and technological advancements, most farmers were still working without electricity. By 1910, public utilities had been established in towns throughout Stearns County and the state of Minnesota. Rural areas, however, were still functioning without electricity. Public utility companies could not afford to extend their lines into the remote countryside. Finally, in 1936, the Federal Government enacted the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). This agency offered low interest loans to bring electricity into rural areas. This legislation enabled rural electrical cooperatives to be formed, and in 1938 the Stearns County Cooperative Electric Association began bringing electricity to farms in Stearns County.

Electricity changed farming by eliminating much of the drudgery of farm work. Water could be pumped from the well by an electric motor. Electrified milking machines replaced hand and wind powered milking machines. Refrigeration systems could be installed in barns as well as in houses. Electric lamps replaced kerosene lanterns. Milking cows at dusk and dawn could now be done in a brighter barn. Family life on the farm became convenient and more enjoyable. Indoor plumbing, such as running water and a bathroom, could be installed in the homes. Reading and homework could be done later at night and it was no longer necessary to conserve the battery-powered radio for special occasions. Now rural residences had the same conveniences as city dwellers.

			Milk used to be contained in glass bottles, but technology changed the packaging to pressed paper cartons, plastic jugs and even plastic bags of milk. Canned milk and powdered milk are also available.

Change continued to be a part of Stearns County’s agricultural tradition. In the 1940s, the government provided price supports to stabilize farm income and help farmers who had not recovered from the Great Depression of the 1930s. During World War II, farmers were encouraged to increase production to help with the war effort. Farmers upgraded their operations to produce more. Many began to take out loans from government lending programs to pay for new equipment and improvements. The government also began paying farmers subsidies to help farm income meet the high cost of farming. Farmers became dependent upon government assistance. Because family farming was one of the nation’s major industries, employing over half of all rural residents, the government was interested in helping farmers. The government continued to play a role in farming by regulating disease control and testing, developing hybrid seeds, and defining health and safety standards.

What other technological advancements have changed farming?

List the businesses in your community that depend on agriculture.