The Agricultural Museum

Good Earth:  Tilling the Soil exhibit shows soil preparation techniques from the late 1800’s to the mid-1900’s

  The Agriculture Museum, 926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula, will host speaker Steven Donovan, 11 a.m., on Saturday, May 26, for a presentation, “Land Preparation in Ventura County.” Donovan’s talk takes place as part of the opening for the new exhibit, Good Earth: Tilling the Soil, exploring tilling equipment hand-picked from the Museum of Ventura County’s farm implements collection, on display in the Ag Museum’s beautiful native gardens.

Since ancient history, man has manipulated the land to improve growing conditions and increase crop productivity. The earliest techniques of plowing are thought to have started with handheld digging sticks and over thousands of years evolved into the modern-day high-tech machines and implements seen in our local fields today. Good Earth: Tilling the Soil looks back at soil preparation techniques from the late 1800’s to the mid-1900’s in Ventura County and explores the museum’s impressive collection of antique local plows, cultipackers, harrows, subsoilers and cultivators. Visitors will discover the local history of farm implement manufacturers with factories in Oxnard that were instrumental in the development of the exhibit items on display. 

Good Earth: Tilling the Soil will be on display through November 25. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, visit  www.venturamuseum.org or call (805) 653-0323 ext. 308.

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