agriculture

agriculture. . , Some of the world's best soil is right here in the Connecticut River Valley., The valley's soil made it a location of choice for the Pocumtuck and other Indian peoples who cultivated native maize (corn), beans, squash and tobacco. English arrivals planted English field grasses and grains to feed the European livestock they brought with them. The soil yielded surplus grains, which farmers turned into local prosperity through the practice of fattening cattle on a diet of corn, peas and oats called "provender." As new canals and railroads began delivering cheaper grain and livestock from western farms, New England farmers had to develop new crops and markets. By the 1820s, many Deerfielders were growing broom corn for an expanding broom-making industry, and broad-leaf tobacco became a popular crop after the Civil War. By the turn of the 20th century, Eastern European immigrants and other farmers were producing market crops for which the region remains well-known, such as sweet corn, squash, potatoes and onions.