Dakota Datebook: The Wheat King

February 19, 2018 — A 1928 Time magazine article dubbed Thomas Campbell the “Henry Ford of farming.” It was a fitting tribute to the internationally renowned “Wheat King,” born in Dakota Territory on this date in 1882.

Raised on a Grand Forks wheat farm, Thomas Campbell earned a reputation as a mechanic who could fix anything. By the age of seventeen, he was managing his family’s 4,000-acre farm while studying mechanical engineering at the University of North Dakota.

Inspired by the success of Red River Valley bonanza farms, Campbell knew farming could, and should, be more rational and productive. The key, he said, was to view the farm as a factory. After all, a farm “operates on exactly the same principles of mass production, cost accounting, specialized machinery, and skilled mechanical labor as any great industrial organization.”

World War One gave this North Dakota native a chance to test his conclusions. As the war in Europe increased the need and value of American wheat, Campbell devised a plan to convert previously untilled American tribal lands into vast wheat farms. The government accepted his proposal, offering a 10-year lease option for 200,000 acres on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana and Wyoming. Securing two million dollars from financiers like J.P. Morgan, Campbell created the Montana Farming Corporation.

By June of 1918, Campbell’s workers turned the sod on his first field at Fort Peck. By the end of fall seeding, Campbell’s farm had developed 7,000 acres. His operations quickly expanded until it reached a peak of nearly 100,000 acres.

But Campbell’s initial success was short-lived. After the war, wheat prices dropped. His initial backers pulled out and he returned half of the leased land. Undeterred, Campbell secured financing for the remaining 95,000 acres and continued to work his 250 farm hands up to 16 hours a day. To maintain morale, he rewarded workers with good wages and the potential for bonuses. It paid off. By the 1920s, Campbell Farming Corporation was booming, harvesting 35 bushels of wheat per acre while farm implement manufacturers were practically beating down his door for a piece of the action. His large orders were certainly part of the incentive. For instance, when he ordered barbed wire, he ordered by the train carload! And getting a favorable review of your product from Campbell often led to publicity and increased sales thanks to his success and international notoriety.

The Campbell Farming Corporation successfully continued until Thomas’ death in 1966.

The North Dakota native pursued other notable endeavors throughout his life ranging from Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force to agricultural advisor for Soviet, British and American governments. But the longevity of Thomas Campbell’s farming success ensured his place in the annuals of history as the “Wheat King.”

“Dakota Datebook” is a radio series from Prairie Public in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota and with funding from the North Dakota Humanities Council. See all the Dakota Datebooks at prairiepublic.org.