Farming In Michigan Essay

In old days, agriculture or other primary industries were the main pillar of Michigan state’s economy. “Most Native American settlements in the Great Lakes region were along river valleys or near the shoreline of the Great Lakes, and most of the population located in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. Tribal settlements were not permanent, with groups moving to new locations every few years. Although agriculture was limited by soil conditions and dense forest, the Native Americans of this region did cultivate crops. Corn, beans, and squash were grown and wild apples, berries, nuts, game, fish, honey, and wild rice provided other sources of food. Maple sugar was produced from the sap of maple trees and birch trees were used for housing materials and canoes” (A brief history of

Because a high dense of forest cover in Michigan, timber production was high at a period of time, and the lumbering industry became a large-scale industry after the Civil War and continued until approximately 1900. The harvest of Michigan’s woodlands had a large influence on many communities, especially those affiliated with furniture manufacturing, like Grand Rapids. As Michigan 's second largest city, since 1838 onwards, Grand Rapids began to be famous of its furniture manufacturing, and is the headquarters of the five big international furniture companies. Although in 20th century due to the decline of timber and furniture outputs, Grand Rapids was still famous of its delicacy of furniture. Because the logging industry led the growth of domestic industry, the economy of Grand Rapids had a rapid growth. After years of development, Grand Rapids has attracted the attention of a number of large international companies, they locate the headquartered at Grand Rapids, such as Steelcase, Amway, Meijer. In addition, Grand Rapids is also an important center for General Electric Company aviation