How the steel plow transformed the Great Plains
More proof of the importance of subsistence technologies in human history
A consistent theme of my book series and this Substack column is the importance of geography in human history. In particular, biomes have played a formative role in determining whether complex societies can evolve within a specific region. Throughout ancient and modern history, complex societies were restricted to the:
Temperate Forest biomes
Mediterranean biomes
Riverine biomes
Those biomes could support plow-based farming. Plow-based farming enabled the society to achieve the First Key to Progress: A highly efficient food production and distribution system. This enables societies to overcome geographical constraints to food production so that large numbers of people can focus on solving problems other than getting enough food to eat.
For the vast majority of human history, widespread agriculture was impossible (or at least very difficult) with the Temperate Grassland biome. The famous example of the Temperate Grassland biome is the Great Plains in North America. This article will explain how one key technological innovation unlocked the enormous potential of that region.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also be interested in reading my “From Poverty to Progress” book series:
Temperate Grasslands
One of the most intriguing biomes are Temperate Grasslands. The temperate grassland biome is found in continental interiors with moderate rainfall, cold winters, and hot summers. Annual precipitation ranges between 10 and 35 inches, enough to support grasses but not enough for forests. Seasonal extremes are common: winters can reach below freezing, while summers often bring scorching heat.
The landscape is dominated by grasses (surprise!) that can reach heights of six feet or more. Trees are rare except near rivers or in sheltered valleys. Fires, drought, and grazing by large herbivores historically maintained the grass cover. The biome’s signature soil type, mollisols, is deep, dark, and rich in organic matter.
This biome’s geography made it appealing to settlers: wide horizons, relatively flat terrain, and few natural barriers. But its ecology—especially the tough sod and sticky soils—posed enormous challenges to early farmers.
Today these biomes are among the most productive agricultural regions in the world. You should not be surprised the nations that are the biggest food exporters (USA, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, and Argentina) all have large tracts of Temperate Grasslands.
Given that a highly efficient food production and distribution system is one (and perhaps the most important) of the Five Keys to Progress, you might think that societies in the Temperate Grasslands biome have played outsized roles in human history. That is far from what happened in actual history.
Here is a global map that shows the Temperate Grasslands biome in dark brown. The most important regions are:
The Great Plains of North America (the focus of this article)
The Steppe of Eastern Europe and Central Asia
The Pampas of Argentina and Uruguay
Small portions of Australia and New Zealand (by some definitions, the “veld” in South Africa also qualifies)
With the exception of the steppes of Central Asia, all these regions were relatively insignificant in world history until quite recently.
Why?
This map is not quite so fancy, but it is a little easier to identify the Temperate Grasslands biomes:
Why soil is excellent for agriculture
Temperate Grasslands tend to be dominated by Mollisol soils. Mollisol is one of (if not the most) productive soils in the world for agriculture. With the exception of relatively rare volcanic soils, Mollisols beat all other widely available soil types. Here is a global map of soil types.
The key to the productivity of the Mollisol soils is the cycle of grasses themselves. Each year, grasses die back, leaving roots in the soil. These roots decompose, enriching the soil with humus, a dark organic material. Over centuries, this cycle created thick, black soils that could be several feet deep.
These soils contain abundant nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. They are friable, meaning they crumble easily once loosened, and they retain water while allowing air circulation. This balance makes them ideal for crops like wheat, barley, and corn.
One striking example is the American Midwest, where topsoil in parts of Iowa and Kansas historically reached depths of three to six feet. Similarly, Ukraine’s chernozem soils are so fertile and deep that they became legendary, capable of producing high yields year after year.
Thus, the soils of temperate grasslands were treasures waiting to be unlocked. But until the nineteenth century, they remained largely beyond the reach of traditional agriculture.
Limitations of the Temperate Grassland biome
The major reason for this is that the Temperate Grassland biome was very unsuitable for plow-based agriculture. Without plow-based agriculture, humans could not produce a large enough food surplus to evolve into complex societies. By complex society, I mean:
Commercial societies (where progress was invented)
Industrial societies (where most of us live today)
Plow-based agriculture requires domesticated animals to do most of the work plowing acreage. Horses are the most efficient at doing so, although oxen, water buffalo, and cows are sufficient. Humans have failed to domesticate other wild species into productive sources of traction.
Even if you have traction animals, you also need plows that can break the soil. Traditional plows are quite effective at breaking the most common soil types in Temperate Forest, Mediterranean, and Riverine biomes. Temperate Grasslands, however, are a much tougher problem.
It is not the soil itself. Temperate Grassland biomes tend to have Mollisol soils (in dark green below). These soils are some of the richest and most agriculturally productive soils in the world. The problem is what grows in those soils: grass.
The grass that grows in the Temperate Grassland biome has one huge disadvantage for humans: their dense mat of roots is so thick and deep as to be almost impossible to plow. Most types of plants have the bulk of their material above the surface. Grasses, however, have the bulk of their material in the roots. These roots typically extend many meters below the surface and intermingle with the roots of other grass nearby. This makes grass very difficult to kill. You can remove the visible parts of the plants, but then it just grows back.
This is great for grass, but it is terrible for farmers. Plowing is essentially killing natural plants, so the farmer can then plant the seeds of the desired crop in its place. On level, flat areas that are otherwise perfect for agriculture, traditional plows were almost useless in Temperate Grasslands. The dense roots slowed the momentum of the plow, and the sticky soil stuck to the moldboard. Rather than pushing forward through the soil, the plow would constantly lurch to a full stop. Even the most determined farmers learned that it was not worth the effort.
Early American settlers on the Great Plains quickly discovered that traditional plows were inadequate. Wooden plows, common in colonial America, snapped under the strain of sod. Cast-iron plows were stronger, but their rough surfaces caused the sticky prairie soil to cling tightly. Farmers had to stop every few feet to scrape the moldboard clean.
The sod itself was a barrier. Prairie grasses had evolved deep, intertwined root systems, forming a mat that could be nearly impenetrable. Horses and oxen strained to pull plows through it, often breaking harnesses or exhausting themselves.
Settlers encounter the Great Desert
By 1830, American farmers had been moving westward for 170 years. Farmers in the North had found the Incepticol and Andisol soils underneath the Temperate Forests relatively easy to plow. The hardest work was clearly the forests above the soil, but at least that effort had the benefit of providing a useful building material: wood. Incidentally, those were largely the same soils that predominated in Northwest Europe.
But then in 1830 American farmers came head up against a completely different type of biome: the Temperate Grasslands biome with its Mollisol soils. Over time, farmers learned that grasslands are no more useful for farming than deserts.
As a result, much of the Plains remained untouched. Explorers and officials even labeled it the “Great American Desert,” assuming it was unsuitable for agriculture. While Native peoples made use of the land for hunting and limited horticulture, large-scale farming by Euro-American settlers seemed impossible.
The challenge was simple but urgent: invent a plow that could cut through sod and shed sticky soil efficiently.
Invention of steel plow
In 1837, John Deere, a blacksmith in Grand Detour, Illinois, solved the problem. And, yes, it is the same John Deere that the famous tractor company is named after. He fashioned a plow blade from a discarded steel saw blade, polishing it to a smooth finish. The result was a plow that sliced cleanly through sod and allowed soil to slide off the moldboard without sticking.
Farmers immediately noticed the difference. Where iron plows had required frequent cleaning, Deere’s steel plow cut continuously, saving time and labor. Demand grew quickly. By the 1840s, Deere was producing hundreds of plows annually. In 1848, he moved his operations to Moline, Illinois, where he had access to water power and the Mississippi River for shipping. His company soon became the largest manufacturer of plows in the United States.
The steel plow did not invent farming on the Plains, but it made it practical at scale. With it, farmers could cultivate previously unworkable soils, opening the door to mass migration, settlement, and commercial agriculture.
Until the invention of the steel plow in the 1830s, most agriculture in the Temperate Grassland biome was restricted to isolated regions where the sod was naturally broken by riverbeds.
Once the steel plow was invented, every nation established wide-scale agriculture in the grasslands within a century. The steel plow was truly a transformative technology because it enabled highly-productive agriculture to be established in millions of acres of fertile soil.
How it enabled massive growth of agriculture in Great Plains
Once the steel plow became available, the Great Plains were no longer viewed as a barrier but as an opportunity. The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged settlers by offering 160 acres of land to anyone willing to farm it. Between 1862 and 1900, over 80 million acres were claimed under the Act.
Farmers armed with steel plows, McCormick reapers, and threshing machines rapidly expanded cultivation. Wheat yields in Kansas rose from virtually nothing in the 1850s to hundreds of millions of bushels annually by 1900. Nebraska’s wheat production increased more than tenfold between 1870 and 1890.
Railroads played a critical role. By 1890, over 166,000 miles of track stretched across the United States, much of it crossing the Plains. This allowed grain to flow eastward to Chicago and beyond.
The social transformation was equally profound. Population in Kansas grew from fewer than 150,000 in 1860 to over 1.4 million by 1890. Towns like Wichita, Topeka, and Omaha flourished. Farming became increasingly commercial, tied to banks, railroads, and global markets.
The Great Plains were transformed into one of the most productive farming regions on earth—all because the steel plow made it possible to unlock the soil.
Great Plains exports of grain to East Coast and Europe
By the 1870s, the Great Plains were producing far more grain than the U.S. population could consume. Exports became essential. Grain was hauled to Chicago, where elevators stored millions of bushels. From there, it moved eastward by rail and canal to ports such as New York and Baltimore. Steamships carried it across the Atlantic.
American wheat exports soared. In 1860, the U.S. exported a few million bushels of wheat. By 1890, that figure had risen to hundreds of millions annually. Europe was the main destination: Britain, Germany, and France all relied heavily on U.S. grain. By the 1880s, wheat exports made up nearly one-quarter of all U.S. agricultural exports.
This transatlantic flow was revolutionary. It tied the Great Plains to the diets of European factory workers. Bread in London or Berlin was often made from Kansas wheat. The steel plow had indirectly become a foundation of European industrialization by keeping food cheap and plentiful.
Key inventions and infrastructure that enabled grain exports
The steel plow unlocked the soil, but it was only the first step. To transform farming into a global export system, a whole chain of inventions and infrastructure was needed. Each link made it possible to farm larger areas, produce more grain, move it efficiently, and sell it on world markets.
The mechanical reaper (above), patented by Cyrus McCormick in 1834, allowed a single farmer to harvest many acres a day, compared to only a few with a scythe. By the 1860s, threshing machines separated grain from straw at a much faster rate than hand labor. Steam engines later powered threshers and plows, and by the 1880s, early combine harvesters could reap, thresh, and clean dozens of acres in a single day.
A vast grain surplus would have been useless without transport to distant markets. Railroads made that possible. By 1890, the United States had over 166,000 miles of track, much of it across the Great Plains. A bushel of wheat could be shipped from Chicago to New York for a fraction of the previous cost, making exports profitable.
Those grains also need to be stored long enough so they can be consumed year-round, instead of immediately before the harvest. Grain elevators (above) made that possible. In 1842, the first steam-powered grain elevator was built in Buffalo, New York. By the 1880s, elevators in Chicago could store tens of millions of bushels at a time. The ability to handle grain in bulk—using conveyor belts, chutes, and gravity—cut labor costs dramatically.
The grain surplus was so vast that even North America was not populous enough to consume it. Steamships revolutionized transatlantic trade and made overseas export cost-effective. By the 1870s, American wheat could reach Liverpool in under two weeks. Freight rates fell steadily, making U.S. grain competitive even against local European farmers.
All of this grain had to be kept track of as it moved through the massive logistics chain. Chicago’s Board of Trade (located in the building shown above) created grain grading standards in the 1850s. By 1865, it was trading futures contracts, allowing farmers to lock in prices ahead of harvest. Futures markets reduced risk and gave grain a stable price on world markets.
Together, these innovations created a seamless system. Steel plows opened the soil, reapers and threshers gathered the harvest, elevators and railroads moved it in bulk, steamships carried it overseas, and financial markets stabilized its price. The result was one of the first truly global commodity systems.
How the plow enabled increased feed production for animals
The impact of the steel plow was not limited to bread grains. By unlocking grassland soils, it also made possible the large-scale cultivation of feed crops—corn, oats, barley, and later soybeans—that fueled an expansion in animal husbandry.
Farming itself required horses. A typical 160-acre farm might need four to six draft horses for plowing, planting, and harvesting. As farms grew, demand for horse feed rose. Corn and oats, grown in abundance thanks to the steel plow, provided the calories horses needed.
The Great Plains had long been home to open-range cattle ranching. Once farms expanded, farmers began producing corn and hay to fatten cattle more quickly. Corn-fed beef became a staple of the American diet.
Pigs thrived on corn as well. In fact, corn-and-pork production became so closely linked that the Midwest was sometimes called the “hog and hominy” region. Corn allowed farmers to raise millions of hogs for both domestic consumption and export.
Poultry also benefited indirectly. Wheat bran, cornmeal, and oats became part of chicken feed, allowing farmers to raise larger flocks. Egg production increased steadily as farmers had surplus grain.
In short, the steel plow did more than turn the prairie into a breadbasket. It also enabled the rise of intensive animal husbandry by providing feed crops in abundance. This, in turn, diversified diets, expanded export markets, and linked crop farming and livestock raising into an integrated system.
The steel plow transforms the Pampas in Argentina
Once the key technologies in the grain supply chain were invented, they could be copied by other nations.
The Pampas of Argentina followed a similar path as the North American Great Plains. Initially dominated by cattle ranching, the region shifted to grain farming in the late nineteenth century. By 1900, Argentina produced vast amounts of wheat annually, much of it exported.
Railroads expanded rapidly. In 1870, Argentina had fewer than 500 miles of track; by 1914, it had over 20,000 miles, much of it connecting the Pampas to Buenos Aires. Steamships carried wheat and refrigerated beef to Europe, making Buenos Aires one of the wealthiest cities in the Southern Hemisphere.
Immigrants from Italy and Spain provided labor, skills, and demand for farmland. By 1914, nearly one-third of Argentina’s population was foreign-born. Like the American Plains, the Pampas became a breadbasket for Europe.
and Australia…
In Australia, grasslands became central to wheat and sheep production. The first exports of Australian wheat were modest, but by 1900, production had grown to over 60 million bushels annually. Most of it went to Britain.
The spread of railroads into inland New South Wales and Victoria allowed wheat to move from farms to ports. By 1914, Australia had over 20,000 miles of track. Improvements in shipping made the long voyage to Britain cost-effective. Australia’s wheat belt, combined with its wool exports, tied the nation’s economy directly to Europe.
and the steppe in Russian empire…
The Russian steppe, particularly Ukraine, had some of the world’s most fertile soils. With serfdom abolished in 1861 and new plows introduced, grain production soared. By 1900, Russia exported nearly 300 million bushels of wheat annually, making it the world’s largest exporter. The port of Odessa alone handled tens of millions of bushels a year by the late nineteenth century.
Railroads connected the steppe to Black Sea ports. Russia’s rail network expanded from fewer than 1,000 miles in 1855 to over 36,000 miles by 1900. German colonists, Ukrainian peasants, and Russian farmers all contributed to this boom.
Exports from the steppe fed European cities just as U.S. and Argentine grain did. Together, these regions created a global grain web that sustained industrial Europe.
How grain imports from those areas fed Europe and enabled industrialization
Industrial Europe depended on cheap grain. Between 1870 and 1910, Britain imported tens of millions of bushels of wheat annually from the United States, Argentina, and Russia. Germany also imported heavily by 1900. By 1913, over one-third of Europe’s wheat came from overseas.
These imports lowered bread prices. In Britain, the average price of a loaf of bread fell significantly between 1870 and 1910. Cheap food allowed workers to live in cities and devote their labor to industry rather than subsistence farming. It also reduced the risk of famine and social unrest.
Thus, the steel plow’s impact extended far beyond the Great Plains. By making grassland farming possible, it created a system that fed Europe’s industrial revolution.
Conclusion
The steel plow was more than a farming tool. It was the spark that ignited a global transformation. By unlocking the rich soils of the grasslands, it enabled the Great Plains, the Pampas, the Australian wheat belt, and the Russian steppe to become the breadbaskets of the world.
These regions, connected by railroads, steamships, and financial markets, fed Europe’s growing cities and industrial workers. They reshaped economies, supported population growth, and created one of the first global commodity systems. The plow also allowed feed crops to expand, supporting livestock and poultry production, and linking human and animal diets in a new agricultural system.
The story of the steel plow is a reminder that simple technologies can have world-changing consequences. A single blade of polished steel helped shape the modern global economy.
Bibliography
A History of World Agriculture” by Marcel Mazoyer and Laurence Roudart (summary here)
“An Introduction to Agricultural Geography” by David Grigg (summary here)
“Food, Energy and Society” by David and Marcia Pimentel (summary here)
William Cronon. Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West (summary here).
David Moon. The Plough that Broke the Steppes: Agriculture and Environment on Russia’s Grasslands, 1700–1914 (summary here).
USDA Economic Research Service. Wheat Data: Yearbook Tables.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Food Outlook: Biannual Report on Global Food Markets.
Walter Prescott Webb. The Great Plains.
R. Douglas Hurt. American Agriculture: A Brief History.
Richard White. Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America.
See more articles on Food and Agriculture:
Why agriculture is humanity's greatest technological innovation
Why Agrarian societies dominated recorded history for nearly 5000 years
If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also be interested in reading my “From Poverty to Progress” book series:
Interesting, too, that the reaper was invented before the steel plow. [and of course the cotton gin well before either of these] .
I presume getting these devices into the market was actually more important than inventing them initially? Once people could start thinking of mechanical ideas, coupled to horse or steam power, and recognize the market potential, multiple concepts could be tried and the best would win out.
And I forget the numbers, but something like 70+% agricultural labor in the 1800's, dropping to 2 or 3% in the 1950's due to replacing labor with capital equipment.
Good of you to give us a wake up call or reminder about this history so we can appreciate just how fortunate we are today to have a fully integrated and marketed/financed agricultural support base. As problematic as "big Ag" might be in some circumstances, having "no Ag" would be a lot worse.
Creating wealth seems to be such a mystery to so many people. Maybe if Adam Smith had not used a "hidden hand" metaphor for his specialization and trade ideas, people would appreciate the complexity and interdependency of the market, such that each of us can now pursue a career path most suited to our interests and abilities. And change it all up again if a given path fails to give us the rewards we expected or desired. I guess that opportunity potential is also a thread in the cloth of progress, too.
A smaller area of wheat production is in Eastern Washington and northern Oregon, with rain fed winter wheat grown on the ‘Palouse’ lands. This wheat is transported by barge down the mighty Columbia river barge, through locks at multiple dams, and into huge grain elevators along the ports in Portland on the Columbia and Willamette. The ‘wheat building’ along the Willamette in downtown Portland has a map of where this wheat goes: all over the world, including huge percentages to Japan and Nigeria. Interestingly, Ramen noodles, made in Japan and for sale in every grocery store in the USA, are made with wheat from Oregon and Washington.