New England was once covered with farms, or at least the accessible places were. Yet farming in New England has always been difficult. Because of the region’s hilly, rocky terrain, most farms are small; farmers cannot plant vast fields like those in the Midwest or South. Another hurdle is the famous New England weather: harsh, unpredictable, and sometimes downright crazy. Finally, the length of the growing season, which is very short and variable, can prove to be a formidable obstacle to success.

Despite these challenges, cornfields, cows, and curling pumpkin vines were familiar sites to most people in the area. Barns, silos, stables, and icehouses once dotted the landscape. The smell of manure spread on open fields was for many the most certain sign of spring.

The whole region was filled with farms. Most raised cows, hay, or fruit. According to an almanac of 1900, Massachusetts alone had more than 34,300 of them, just under 3 million acres of farmland.