Final answer:
Before the 20th century, grass cutting height was controlled by grazing practices and technological limitations. Overgrazing, combined with poor land management and droughts, led to severe environmental consequences, like the Dust Bowl. Innovations in farm equipment enabled greater cultivation but often at the cost of long-term soil health.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before the 20th century, the cutting height of grass was primarily controlled by natural factors and management practices that were less technologically advanced than today's standards. For instance, the management of grass livestock grazing played a critical role in grassland ecosystems, especially on the Great Plains. The overgrazing by livestock, particularly in cases where there was an increase in cattle without adequate planning, often led to soil erosion, degradation of plant life, and ultimately diminished the land's capacity to support both livestock and humans. This was intensified by drought conditions and inadequate agricultural practices, such as failure to rotate crops and let fields lie fallow, which further exacerbated the environmental impact and contributed to disasters like the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.
Farming methods during this time highly depended on the availability and advancements of agricultural tools. For example, the development of tools like James Oliver's chilled plow allowed for deeper and more efficient cutting of the tough prairie sod, thereby shaping grassland management by enabling extensive cultivation of wheat, even though it led to detrimental long-term soil health.