 Agricultural advances were occurring throughout the states, particularly in the south and west, and with Connecticut's soil comparatively poor, the state's farmers increasingly focused on producing perishable goods for nearby populations that would not be subject to competing products from other faraway locales.Increasingly, farmers in various parts of the state focused on a few cash crops that proved successful for export.Apple and peach orchards were blossoming by the middle of the century, but would be subject to the vagaries of pests, weather, and competitors in other states.