They probably had some of the same problems the farmers have today, like drought or flooding. However, I think they had many more problems than they have today. They had to use horses to pull the plow and it took a long time. Unless the farmer was wealthy, he had to harvest his crop by himself, bring it to town and sell it and go back to the farm with little money. The farmers of today have tractors, trucks for hauling, etc.. Farmers who raised cows for meat or milk also had to milk by hand and care for the animals . They work hard today, but they worked even harder years ago.