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There was plenty of good land available for farming.
The New England colonies had poor, rocky soil; farming could only happen in small areas. These small farms were only enough to support the family that owned it (subsistence farming). So they turned to the fish and lumber. They also did a lot of shipbuilding for the England military.
They were small because farmers in New England practices subsistence farming so they did not need a large farming area because all they needed to farm was the sufficient amount so they could feed there family.
Only a small few found success farming and ranching on the plains as it was very difficult. The poor weather was one of the most significant problems they face.
After the US Civil War, many poor white farmers became sharecroppers, farming land owned by the wealthy planters in exchange for a percentage of their crop's yield.