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"Bonanza farms were very large farms in the United States performing large-scale operations, mostly growing and harvesting wheat!. Bonanza farms were made possible by a number of factors including: the efficient new farming machinery of the 1870s, the cheap abundant land available during that time period, the growth of eastern markets in the U!.S!., and the completion of most major railroads!.

Most bonanza farms were owned by companies and run like factories, with professional managers!. The first bonanza farms were established in the Red River Valley in Dakota Territory, and Minnesota in the mid-1870s!. They were located close to the Northern Pacific Railroad which transported their wheat to market!. Investors also organized bonanza farms farther west!.

Migrant labor was a necessary part of bonanza farming!. At planting and harvesting times foremen often supervised some 500 to 1000 extra workers on a bonanza farm!. When weather and market conditions were good, bonanza farms made large profits; buying seeds, and equipment in bulk meant lower production costs!. But in times of drought or low wheat prices, their profits fell!. As the Red River Valley developed, the necessity to use Mexican migrant labor or bracero labor distinguished the former area of the Bonanza farms from their local competitors, family farmers!. Family farmers, with fewer workers to pay and less money invested in equipment, could better handle boom-and-bust cycles!. Thus by the 1890s most bonanza farms had broken up into smaller farms!."

-Wikipedia

I don't know much about it, but I'm assuming that they were not good for the average farmer, given that they would have difficulty competing with such large scale production!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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