in the age of U.S. farming before there were tractors and before there was electricity, how many workers did you need to operate, say, a 2000-acre farm? Is there a rule of thumb? As I understand it, most of the hardest work was done by farm animals - horses, oxen, donkeys, but humans had to care for those animals, including any livestock and whatever crops were grown on the farm.
In the US, in the 1800's, governments of frontier states or territories distributed land to settlers in 40-acre lots. (For those who are not familiar with the measure, that is 16 hectares. The lots were usually squares, 2 furlongs on a side. A furlong is very slightly more than 200 m.) I think that indicates what they thought was a reasonable size for a farm. Often a settler would buy two lots - one along the road and the one behind it - farming one, and using the "back 40" as a source of firewood.
I think that indicates what they thought was a reasonable size for a farm.
That should likely be qualified as to be operated by a single family.
There were much larger farms, even in the 19th century, and ranches could cover thousands of acres.
Diamond Porter 🚫
1/18/2025, 6:31:45 PM
@PotomacBob
In the US, in the 1800's, governments of frontier states or territories distributed land to settlers in 40-acre lots. (For those who are not familiar with the measure, that is 16 hectares. The lots were usually squares, 2 furlongs on a side. A furlong is very slightly more than 200 m.) I think that indicates what they thought was a reasonable size for a farm. Often a settler would buy two lots - one along the road and the one behind it - farming one, and using the "back 40" as a source of firewood.
In many western states it was 160-acre lots, 64 hectares per US citizen.
In many western states it was 160-acre lots, 64 hectares per US citizen.
Actually, it was per household. But there were a lot of sneaky ways to get around that.
But there were a lot of sneaky ways to get around that.
The dead-tree novel Centennial, written by James Michener and published in 1974, has a scene where a family sneaked around that.
That was a good book. There are a number of stories here on SoL that sneak around it too.
As a farmer I can tell you that your question is to broad and not easy to answer.
First an ACRE is 4,840 square yards or just picture an American football field and an acre is the width of the field by 90 yards.
What period are we talking about ? (until the industrial age most farms averaged less then 100 acres with most falling in around 10-40 acres)
What are the crops you are going to plant ?
What is your location and soil type ?
Are you starting a 2000 acre farm or is it all ready a working farm ?
This is what just flashed in my mind in the time it took to read your question and isn't even close to all the other items I'm think of now by the time it took me to write all this down.
But if you want something that is down and dirty it is believed that a single person could plow and plant 1 acre of corn in 1-3 days and harvest that acre in a week. They could then tend to about 10 acres a day during the growing season which for corn is around 4 months.
If you was growing something like potatoes it would take a person about a week to plant 1 acre but almost a month to harvest that 1 acre.
until the industrial age most farms averaged less then 100 acres with most falling in around 10-40 acres
The key word here is averaged which necessarily means larger farms existed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation_complexes_in_the_Southern_United_States
A common definition of what constituted a plantation is that it typically had 500 to 1,000 acres (2.0 to 4.0 km2) or more of land and produced one or two cash crops for sale.
A plantation is a type of large farm. Granted they were largely dependent on slave labor, but that doesn't negate their existence.
Yes, I understand and agree that there where larger farms which is why I mentioned location.
In the southern USA they have a much longer growing season then the north does. Plus those plantations where only able to work due to the CHEAP labor they had available.
I don't know the answer, but if it's important, old census records could help.
Also, the mention of 1000 acre ranches. ranches are where livestock, usually cattle, were grazed, requiring less labor.
Also, the mention of 1000 acre ranches. ranches are where livestock, usually cattle, were grazed, requiring less labor.
There were plantations where cash crops were grown that were that large before the US Civil War.