Farm Mechanization

During the late eighteenth century, however, the methods of growing, raising, and processing food began to change: some farmers began adopting newer enhanced European agricultural practices, such as the use of organic fertilizers, crop rotation, and livestock breeding systems. New equipment, such as the seed drill for sowing seeds, which had been invented in England by Jethro Tull in 1701, also became common in the United States. The introduction of the cradle and scythe helped make harvesting grains easier. Thomas Jefferson experimented with the use of moldboards (curved metal plow blades that lift and turn over soil) and came up with a workable design in 1794. The cast iron plow was patented in 1797.