In the rural areas of Kentucky, agriculture is how many families earn income. Due to Marion County’s fertile soil, you will see fields of crops each year across the county. Farming is very important even if you don’t grow the crops yourself. Everyday we eat or use something that has been produced on a farm. In fact, many varieties of crops can be grown in our area in Kentucky; from corn and soybeans to tobacco. Farming is also very tedious work. Farmers need to know the correct measurement of their fields so they can be sure they have enough, seeds, fertilize, and other chemicals. Farmers also must be able to calculate the amount of crops they will produce to know how much income they will make. The slides of the following fields are located in Gravel Switch, Kentucky where my family farms.

Process of Creating the Maps Throughout the process of creating the maps I went through several steps. First, I had to plot each waypoint on each of the fields with a GPS device. Once I got all of the way points, I uploaded them into a program called Arc GIS. After I loaded the waypoints, I picked the type of map that best suited my topic. The type of map I chose was an imagery map. I picked an imagery map because I thought it represented my purpose well. This type of map best shows the physical features of the area. I then began to highlight the area on each field. The highlighted area shows where the crops would go on the field. It also shows the total acreage that the field measures. After I found the acreage of each field, I then uploaded the pictures on PowerPoint so I could add details and descriptions.

Shown above are all of the waypoints for each field. The waypoints are marked with a certain number or letter. Different groups identify certain fields which will grown a specified crop. Key: Field Waypoint Measured Acres

Tobacco fields are measured to see the exact acreage of the area. It is very important to have the correct measurement of each field. Farming crops requires a certain amount of fertilizer, chemicals etc. Not having the correct amount may mess up the growth of certain crops. Key: Field Waypoint Measured Acres

Knowing the amount of crops in each area, helps the farmer to plan what will be planted and how much will be harvested. This is a tobacco field that will be planted in the Spring. Key: Field Waypoint Measured Acres

The soybean field shown above is 19 acres. The farmer will be able to calculate the amount of soybeans that will be harvested and then estimate the amount of money he will get for his crop. Key: Field Waypoint Measured Acres

Like the tobacco field the correct acreage is very important. Soybeans are used in many products we may eat or drink each day. If too much chemical was used the crops could be unhealthy to eat. An example would be soy milk. Key: Field Waypoint Measured Acres