With the advent of large farming equipment and commercial fertilizers following World War II, it became more efficient from a labor standpoint to grow the same types of crop year after year. Diversity of enterprises on each farm helped create stability in the production system. Pastures and hayland were rotated with crops so that the same enterprise was not on the same field year after year. On another area, s/he would graze beef cattle, dairy, or chickens on forage crops like annual clovers, perennial tall fescue, wheat pasture, and native rangeland. So, a farmer could be cropping cotton and sweet potatoes in one area of their farm. There was limited food distribution to large grocery stores, and most of the food was grown locally. Years ago, it was tradition for farmers to grow a variety of crops on their farm. Grain sorghum for cash cropping is shown in the background.
Mature cows are grazing pearl millet cover crop in the foreground.
