Question

what were the advantages and disadvantages of the use of mechanical harvesting machine in the USA ?

Answer 1

The advantages of mechanical harvesting were:
(i) They allowed big farmers to rapidly clear large tracts, breakup the soil, remove the grass and prepare the ground for cultivation.
(ii) These machines reduced dependence on labour and increased efficiency. With power driven machinery four men could plough, seed and harvest 2,000 to 4,000 acres of wheat in a season.
The disadvantages of mechanical harvesting were:
(i) For poor farmers machines brought misery. Machines reduced dependence on labour leading to unemployment. For many a poor it became difficult to find jobs.
(ii) Many farmers who bought machines on loans, thinking the boom would last, faced hard times once the boom ended by 1920s. They faced difficulty in paying back lo Some were driven to take the extreme step of abandoning farms.

Answer 2

Answer:

Advantages:

(i) It saved the use of physical labour and increased agricultural output. ...

(ii) The new machines allowed big farmers to clear large forests, break up the soil, remove the grass and prepare the land for cultivation. ...

(iii) The USA became one of the largest producers and exporters of wheat in the world.