Perhaps to utilize all of his land, there might be some area that is not suitable for raising grain. One solution is to raise some livestock that will excel on the native grasses. This opens up a whole new group of things that the farmer must be aware of. In the early days each farm had a few cattle, milk cows, sheep, hogs, chickens, and maybe some ducks and geese. Now there is more specialization and concentration in these areas.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 113