During the twentieth century, urbanization and technological advances led to which changes in farming in the United States?

During the twentieth century, urbanization and technological advances led to which changes in farming in the United States?

• A. More farms and more farmers
• B. More farms and fewer farmers
• C. Fewer farms and more farmers
• D. Fewer farms and fewer farmers

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is how urban growth and new farming technology changed the structure of farming in the United States during the 20th century. As cities expanded and mechanization advanced, fewer people worked on farms because machines did most of the labor that many hands used to do. Farms also tended to merge into larger operations, so there were fewer individual farms overall. In short, both the number of farms and the number of people farming decreased, even though overall agricultural output could stay strong or grow thanks to efficiency and scale. That’s why the description of fewer farms and fewer farmers best captures what happened.

The main idea here is how urban growth and new farming technology changed the structure of farming in the United States during the 20th century. As cities expanded and mechanization advanced, fewer people worked on farms because machines did most of the labor that many hands used to do. Farms also tended to merge into larger operations, so there were fewer individual farms overall. In short, both the number of farms and the number of people farming decreased, even though overall agricultural output could stay strong or grow thanks to efficiency and scale. That’s why the description of fewer farms and fewer farmers best captures what happened.