Life on the farms and ranches

1. Life on the farms and ranches Chapter 9 section 5 By Ayla Sozen

2. Farmers • Most Texans made their living by subsistence farming. Subsistence farming provides just enough income to support a family. • Farmers mostly grew crops. Farms was about 140 acres in size and farmers used most of their land raising cattle and some growing crops. Some planted cash crops usually cotton. A cash crop is something sold for a profit. This happened in order to buy items from the U.S.

3. Ranchers • Ranchers mostly raised cattle. Ranching was a hard way to make a living even though raising cattle required less care then crops. There often was more cattle meat then there were people who wanted to buy it. They had to worry about thieves, droughts and other diseases which could wipe out an entire herd. • Ranchers usually exchanged their cattle for clothing and other goods. Some took small herds to New Orleans to sell an trade. Sheep ranching became more popular over the years.