Question

In the early 1800s, farmers did not use metal plows because:

the farmers believed the metal would contaminate the soil
the plows were too expensive for most to afford
the plows were not available yet
the farmers had other methods that were more efficient

Answer 1

the plows were too expensive for most to afford

Explanation: early metal (iron) plows were costly and not widely available to small farmers; it wasn’t until cheaper, better designs like John Deere’s steel plow (c. 1837) that metal plows became practical and common.