1. Rural Geography

2. Learning intentions:
To learn about the farming system
I will be able to:
Produce a table showing the inputs, processes and outputs of a farming system
Explain how a farmer makes decisions based on their available inputs

3. The Farming System Inputs Outputs Processes Physical Human
Economic/political

4. Inputs
Physical
Climate
Length of growing season (6oC)
Precipitation
Soil
Altitude/relief
Aspect (direction a place faces)
exposure

5. Human inputs
Farm buildings
Labour
Transport
Technology – pesticides, machines etc
Economic/political
Quotas/subsidies
Loans from banks
Market
Capital
Farm tenure

6. Processes
Decision making
Plough fields
Plant seeds
Harvesting
Build/maintain fences
Milk

7. Outputs
Crops
Meat
Dairy products
Fodder crops

8. Farmers use their experience and understanding of these factors to make a decision on how best to use their farmland. Where neighbouring farmers reach similar decisions a particular pattern of land use emerges in that area, (although there are always exceptions!) Different types of inputs vary according to level of development. Variations in inputs result in different types of farming throughout the world.

9. Rural Geography The Great Plains USA (Developed country example)
You will study 2 different rural landscapes, showing 2
different types of agriculture.
The Great Plains USA (Developed country example)
Intensive Subsistence farming in Kerala, India (Developing country example)

10. Learning intentions:
To find out the location and physical landscape of the Great Plains
To learn about the land use pattern in the Great Plains
To describe the main characteristics of extensive commercial farming
I will be able to:
Identify the Great Plains on a map
Answer questions on the land use in the Great Plains
Discuss the main characteristics of extensive commercial farming

11. The Great Plains
The Great Plains is one of the major farming areas in the world. It is a huge area of flat land running down the middle of the USA and extending form northern Mexico into Canada.
In total, it is 3200km from north to south and 800km from west to east

13. Climate
Due to its huge area, wide variations in climate are experienced in the Great Plains, from north to south ad from east to west
The northern states are typically much cooler with very cold and snowy winters and mild summers
The southern states can be hot all year round
The western states are semi-arid with hot summers and mild winters – in these states, drought is very common and they can experience devastating dust storms
The eastern states are considerable wetter and the rainfall is more reliable

15. The Physical Landscape
The land is vast and undulating – mostly flat but occasionally broken up by hills such as the Black Hills of Dakota
The semi-arid and arid climate creates many problems in some of the states in the Great Plains, such as Kansas and Texas
The prolonged period without rain can lead to drought conditions – during this time the vegetation dies as there is no water to sustain it

16. The effects of drought
The effects dust storms in the 1930s

17. Land Use
200 years ago the region was home to Native Americans who grew some crops but relied mostly on hunting bison
Then, immigrant settlers from Europe set up cattle ranches here and drove away the Native Americans and their herds of bison
Just over 100 years ago crop farmers took over much of the area and the population began to grow
By the early twentieth century the population was greater than it is now

18. Bison

19. Land Use
Then a series of droughts, together with poor farming practices, led to massive soil erosion and acute dust storms
Many people left the region as farming became impossible and living here became intolerable
This rural depopulation allowed the remaining farms to increase in size and by the late twentieth century farms had become extremely large

20. Land Use The population of the Great Plains remains very low today
70% of the land is used for farming but the vast majority of people live in urban areas with only 33% living in the countryside
Because the population is so low and the farms so big, settlements are dispersed
The villages and towns tend to be evenly distributed, with the largest settlements found where main roads meet

21. Large farm on the Great Plains

22. Farming
This region is a major farming area producing nearly two-thirds of the nations wheat, more than half its beef, a fifth of its corn, a quarter of its cotton, four-fifths of its grain sorghum and a sixth of its pork
Sorghum
Corn
Cotton

23. Farming Vast differences in farming can be seen across the region
Vast cattle ranches dominate the western states
Huge arable farms in the east growing mainly wheat, cotton, barley, hay and corn

24. Farming
All farming here is extensive and commercial – extensive because of the huge area of land covered by each farm
The average farm in the Great Plains is 400 hectares – that is the equivalent of 400 football pitches – but they can be much bigger in the drier west
Commercial farming means growing crops or rearing animals to make money
All of the crops that are grown or animals that are reared will be sold so the farmer can earn a living

25. Farming The farms in the Great Plains are large because:
Soils are quite infertile as they contain little humus – this means the farmer needs a large area to produce a profit
Land is cheap – as more and more people left the region, fewer people wanted to buy farms here and so the price of land dropped
Huge farms are only possible today because of the great variety of machinery that is used
The flat land is well-suited to machines and machines are much cheaper to use than workers

26. Task You are writing a report on the Great Plains.
Start your introduction with the following:
Map showing the location of the Great Plains – name states
Information on physical characteristics, climate and land use