FATHER OF THE MODERN PLOW

Agricultural methods today are drastically different from those used 50 or 100 years ago. In these days of no-till and minimum till, it’s difficult to remember that the mold-board plow once reigned supreme. The plow was the basic primary tillage tool; farmers were judged by the straightness of their furrows and the cleanliness of their plowing. Plowing loosened, inverted and aerated the soil, controlled weeds and insects, and turned vegetation and manure under to rot, adding to the organic matter in the soil.

The first plow was nothing more than a forked tree limb, with the end of one fork sharpened. Later, the sharpened end was reinforced with a flint, bronze or iron point. In the 17th century, the Dutch developed a plow with a curved, wooden moldboard reinforced with an iron