After the Civil War and the arrival of railroads, Kansas was populated by German immigrants, migrants from the Eastern U.S., and Negro Freedmen from the South called “Exodusters.” Farmers tried to grow corn and raise pigs, but failed because of a shortage of rainfall. They switched to soft spring wheat and later to hard winter wheat, which did well in the temperate Kansas climate since it does not have prolonged periods of heat and cold. Read more Kansas and wheat farming history in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).
