New MDL Exhibit explores the Threshing Crew

The Minnesota Digital Library collection includes a large number of photographs documenting the history of Minnesota agriculture. Among the photographs of farmers and farms, cattle and horses, crops and equipment are hundreds of images of threshing and threshing crews. The prevalence of these images inspired the author to create "The Threshing Crew: Community Supported Farming." The online exhibit explores the history of the threshing crew and its impact on Minnesota's farming communities. 

Today Minnesota’s top agricultural crops are soybeans and corn—with soybeans being the state’s largest cash crop. These two crops can be easily harvested by a single farmer working a combine harvester, but over 100 years ago Minnesota’s agricultural landscape looked very different: wheat was king.

During the 1880s over 70% of Minnesota’s farmland was planted with wheat. The harvesting of wheat each fall was an enormous undertaking. The usable grain had to be separated from the plant, a process called threshing which required multiple steps. By the late 19th century, steam-powered threshers and mechanical reapers were in widespread use. The adoption of threshing machines created a new group of agricultural workers: the threshing crew.