Dependence On Migrant Labor and Demise of Bonanza Farms
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.
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