Introduction The Barren and Green rivers made early Bowling Green an important marketing center for the region's agricultural products. The 1859 completion of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad further strengthened the marketplace. After the devastation of the Civil War reliable rail transportation helped the agricultural economy to recover. The chief agricultural products of Warren County's 546 square miles are corn, tobacco, wheat, hay and soybeans. Early farmers grew many of the same crops and also raised cattle, hogs, horses, mules, sheep and poultry. In 1893, 93% of residents were farmers. By 1980 only 34% lived and worked in rural areas.	Tobacco Transportation links to southern markets via the Barren, Green, Ohio and Mississippi rivers made tobacco an important crop early in Warren County's history. Tobacco-related businesses such as warehouses, processing plants, auction houses and brokers gradually developed. Today, Warren County farmers annually sell more than ten million dollars worth of tobacco at auctions in Bowling Green and Plano.
Mills Grist and sawmills, located along streams, were generally the first industries to form in a newly settled area. Mills were important because they provided a valuable service to the community. Early settlers relied on the local miller to grind corn and wheat and saw wood.	Strawberries Travelers' accounts report that wild strawberries were so abundant when the first settlers entered Warren County they stained the legs of horses and cattle red. Farmers grew, and sold locally, improved domesticated varieties in the nineteenth century. As production grew in the early twentieth century growers shipped tens of thousands of crates to various American cities. Strawberries ceased to be a major cash crop in Warren County by the late 1950s.
Livestock Farmers raised livestock on Warren County farms for field work, transportation and food. They also sold or bartered animals for goods and services. In the nineteenth century most farmers raised a variety of livestock. Many twentieth century farmers either specialized or stopped raising farm animals altogether.	Dairy Beginning in the 1920s through the early 1970s, area dairies and condenseries annually produced large quantities of dairy products including milk, ice cream, cottage cheese, cream, butter and whipping cream. Residents in Warren and surrounding counties consumed most of these products. Today, although numbers have declined, Warren County dairies still produce more than six million dollars worth of milk a year.