The Lost Code

A Need for Change

Faced with dwindling earnings and a declining standard of living, rural residents had to adapt. Mechanized and industrialized farming required major investments and engendered considerable debt. In 1854 the U.S. market opened up to Canadian agricultural products. A number of farmers abandoned wheat for potato and dairy farming. The number of industrial dairies grew and, between 1870 and 1890, dairy exports increased fivefold. However, mechanization reduced the need for laborers, which heightened unemployment in rural areas.