January 19, 1841

The Western Farmer, the state’s first farm journal, was published.

Promising to focus on such agricultural issues as the “application of manure,” calf-raising, deep plowing and “the culture of wheat, corn and other grains,” the Western Farmer was issued in Detroit. The first issue of this 8-page, semimonthly publication had 100 subscribers; its second issue had 1,000 subscribers. Subscribers could delay their one-dollar annual payment until harvest time or they could give the publisher any equivalent article that “can be used in [his] family.” In February 1843, the paper moved from Detroit to Jackson, and under new ownership, became the Michigan Farmer and Western Agriculturalist.

Thank you Michigan Start Pages for this glimpse into our past.  See more here.