Acre:
- An area of land approximately the size of a football field
Agriculture:
- Farming and ranching
- Includes production of crops and raising of livestock
Bartering:
- Trading items for other items without exchanging money
Binder:
- Machine that cut grain, gathered it into bundles, and tied the bundles with twine
Bonanza farms:
- Gigantic wheat farms that made huge sums of money
- Ranged in size from 3,000 acres to over 75,000 acres
Brand:
- Special identification mark burned onto the skin of animals
Breaking plow:
- Implement with a heavy, curved blade to turn over sod
- Pulled by a horse or an ox
Bushel:
- A unit of measure that equals 128 cups
Cash crop:
- A crop that is taken to market and sold for money
Cattle:
- Four-legged animals such as cows and bulls that are raised on farms or ranches for meat or milk
Churn:
- Device that stirred cream to make butter
Combine:
- A harvesting machine that separates the kernels of grain from the straw as the machine is driven through the field
Crops:
- Plants that are grown in large amounts for human or livestock food, or for use in industry
Cultivation:
- Preparing land for growing crops
Debt:
- Money that is owed
Decade:
- 10-year period
Depression:
- A period of time when the economy is very poor
- Many people are out of work; a lot of people cannot afford to buy things they want or need
Disk:
- Harrow with sharp, circular plates instead of teeth
Drill:
- Implement that plants crop seeds
Drought:
- A long period of time with little or no rain
Economy:
- The money or possessions created by managing the goods and resources of a region
Euro-Americans:
- Americans with European ancestors
- Sometimes called “whites”
Farm:
- A piece of land on which crops or animals are raised
Fertile:
- Rich in materials needed for plants to grow
Firebreak:
- Strip of plowed land surrounding the house and other buildings to stop prairie fires
Foreclosure:
- The bank taking over property from people who borrow money that they cannot pay back
Furrow:
- A long, narrow groove cut in the ground
Government:
- The group of people who makes rules for the state or nation
Great Dakota Boom:
- 1878 to 1886
- Time period when the eastern two-thirds of North Dakota was settled
Harrow:
- Implement with sharp teeth that digs into the soil
- Breaks up clods of earth
Harvesting:
- Gathering mature crops from the fields
Hay:
- Grass that has been cut and dried to be used as livestock feed
Homestead Act:
- U.S. government gave 160 acres of land free to a person who built a house on the land, lived there for five years, and farmed the land
Industry:
- A business that produces and sells goods
Livestock:
- Farm animals
Mortgage:
- A document which states that a bank will lend money in order to buy property
Mule:
- Offspring of a male donkey and a female horse
- Not able to reproduce themselves
Nutrients:
- Materials that make the soil fertile
Open range:
- Land that is not fenced where cattle are free to graze
Ox:
- A full-grown bull that has been neutered
- Huge animal, stronger than a horse
Poultry:
- Birds raised for eggs or meat
Profit:
- The amount of money earned after expenses have been subtracted
Quarter section:
- 1⁄4 of a section of land
- 160 acres
- Measures 1⁄2 mile on each side
Ranch:
- A large area of land used to raise herds of cattle, sheep, or horses
Rural:
- Refers to being in the country, rather than in towns or cities
Scythe:
- Long, curved blade with a handle
- Early tool used for cutting grain
Section:
- Square of land measuring one mile on each side
- One square mile
- 640 acres
Shocking:
- Picking up bundles of grain from the ground by hand and placing them upright in groups to dry
Sod:
- Grass-covered soil that is held together by matted roots
Stoneboat:
- A type of sled that could glide over fields, grass, snow, or ice
- Pulled by a team of horses
Threshing:
- Separating the grain from the straw
Threshing machine:
- Separated the kernels of grain from the stalks
- Operated by a crew of workers
Urban:
- Refers to city
Vegetation:
- Plant life
Yield:
- The amount of crop that is produced