Three farmers out of four owned their own land. In the North and border states, self-sufficient farms prevailed, but farmers also produced for the market economy to make a profit by raising wheat, corn, oats, hay, hogs, and beef and dairy cattle. In the South, large-scale plantations emphasized specialized production of cotton, rice, tobacco, and sugar cane with the use of slave labor. Small-scale farmers often raised cotton or tobacco for the market and corn for home consumption and livestock feed.
In 1861 few people believed that agriculture would affect the outcome of the war for the Union or Confederacy. Northerners expected the war to end quickly in their favor by force of arms while Southerners anticipated British intervention to ensure cotton supplies for English textile mills and, thereby, Southern independence. Both sides soon found that the war dramatically affected agriculture and farm life. The Union blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and Mississippi River prevented Northern farmers from shipping pork, corn, butter, wheat, oats, lard, and other commodities to Southern consumers who began to experience food shortages by early 1862.
War and Society: Southern Agriculture
The Union blockade of the Mississippi River prevented Texas cattle from reaching Confederate markets, particularly New Orleans, and, thereby, cutting supplies of beef for soldiers and civilians.
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