In the twentieth century came the application of steam, gasoline and electricity to the farm. The result of this was predictable, but nonetheless spectacular. While the total number of farms in the country declined steadily from almost 6 million in 1900 to less than half that number in 1970, the production of wheat increased from less than 500 million to over 2 billion bushels and of corn from less than 2 billion to over 6 billion bushels. Farming as a way of life gave way to farming as a business.