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→Farming
====Farming====
====Farming====
Beginning in 1905 the Great Northern Railway in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture, the Montana Experiment Station, and the Dryland Farming Congress promoted dryland farming in Montana in order to increase its freight traffic. During 1910-13 the Great Northern launched its own program of demonstration farms, which stimulated settlement (during 1909-10 acreage in homesteads quadrupled in Montana) through their impressive production rates for winter wheat, barley, and other grains.<ref> Claire Strom, "The Great Northern Railway and Dryland Farming in Montana". ''Railroad History'' 1997 (176): 80-102 </ref>
Beginning in 1905 the Great Northern Railway in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture, the Montana Experiment Station, and the Dryland Farming Congress promoted dryland farming in Montana in order to increase its freight traffic. During 1910-13 the Great Northern launched its own program of demonstration farms, which stimulated settlement (during 1909-10 acreage in homesteads quadrupled in Montana) through their impressive production rates for winter wheat, barley, and other grains.<ref> Claire Strom, "The Great Northern Railway and Dryland Farming in Montana". ''Railroad History'' 1997 (176): 80-102 </ref>
Wheat was the major crop in eastern Montana, and the process of thrashing to remove the grain evolved over the century as machines became more specialized, faster, and more expensive. In a Montana homestead in the 1910s the work was done by humans and horses, who dealt with the separator, tumbling rod, feeder, carrier, and other parts of the equipment. By the 1930s wheat farms became increasingly dependent on larger and more sophisticated machinery and less dependent on human and animal labor. Thrashing also became an increasingly specialized activity, and farmers turned to itinerant thrashing crews to harvest their crops. <ref> T. Eugene Barrows, "Thrashing in Montana at the Turn of the Century." ''Montana: the Magazine of Western History'' 1988 38(4): 62-66</ref>
====Small business====
====Small business====
Between the Civil War and World War II, small businessmen - ranchers, farmers, local merchants, mine owners, and bankers - represented the backbone of Montana's economy. Success rested upon their ability to diversify their interests into new economic activities and new products. Typical were the Isaac G. Baker Co. and the T. C. Power and Brother Co., which emphasized high-volume sales, product guarantees, and expanded merchandise lines to create statewide department stores. The Strain Brothers specialized in mail-order business and the F. A. Buttrey Co. introduced unique sales gimmicks. Likewise, John P. Barnes, Leander S. Woodbury, and A. C. Edwards demonstrated their entrepreneurial skills in mining, manufacturing and banking, respectively.<ref>Henry C. Klassen, "Diversification in Montana's Small Business." ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly'' 1993 84(3): 98-107 </ref>
Between the Civil War and World War II, small businessmen - ranchers, farmers, local merchants, mine owners, and bankers - represented the backbone of Montana's economy. Success rested upon their ability to diversify their interests into new economic activities and new products. Typical were the Isaac G. Baker Co. and the T. C. Power and Brother Co., which emphasized high-volume sales, product guarantees, and expanded merchandise lines to create statewide department stores. The Strain Brothers specialized in mail-order business and the F. A. Buttrey Co. introduced unique sales gimmicks. Likewise, John P. Barnes, Leander S. Woodbury, and A. C. Edwards demonstrated their entrepreneurial skills in mining, manufacturing and banking, respectively.<ref>Henry C. Klassen, "Diversification in Montana's Small Business." ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly'' 1993 84(3): 98-107 </ref>