Bonanza Farm
Brayden Obermier
What is it?
A bonanza farm is an enormous farm on which a single crop is grown.
Facts
Bonanza farms were large, successful farms mostly in the Great Plains.
They mostly started in late 1800s because of the homestead act, and because of the cheap price of land.
Bonanza farming was helped by the development of machinery that increased production.
(Like the steel plow, reapers, other inventions)
Another thing that aided Bonanza farming was the railroad. It helped them to ship their product all around the country in a short amount of time.
The Homestead Act
It was passed in 1862 and it gave anyone over the age of 21, or a head of a family the right to claim 160 acres of public land if they live on the land or pay $1.25 per acre. This made Bonanza farming and other large scale farming possible.