Agricultural History

The eighteen articles selected for this third volume of the History of the Prairie West series all focus on the agricultural history of the Canadian Plains. Early First Nations practices are examined, as are subsequent evolutions in farming, ranching, and marketing. The articles cover a wide range of topics: First Nations’ agricultural practices; agriculture during the fur trade era; the history of ranching and the industry’s evolution as fenced-in farm settlements supplanted the open range; the wheat boom at the turn of the twentieth century, which led the Prairie Provinces to become known as the breadbasket of the world ; mechanization and other adaptations to dryland farming; how Prairie cattle and crops were transported and marketed abroad; and the emergence of farmers’ organizations who fought for fair prices for their products.