Agricultural%20Territories%20at%20Risk

1
Agricultural Territories at Risk

• Unit 1

2
Farming is important!

• People rely on agriculture (farms) for food.
• Unfortunately, our farm lands are in danger!
• Our planet doesnt have a lot of good land for
  farming for these 4 reasons
• Population is quickly increasing worldwide (urban
  sprawl cities are encroaching on farmland)
• Landscape (ex rocky, mountainous)
• Soil (frozen or sandy - little/no nutrients)
• Climate (ex too cold, icy weather)

3

• Farming areas are also being threatened by
  natural phenomena - plural (ex floods,
  droughts)
• a natural phenomenon

4
What is an agricultural territory at risk?

• An agricultural territory (farms) is an area that
  is used for growing crops or for raising
  livestock.
• An at-risk environment is an area where farming
  is done even though its crops, livestock or farm
  equipment runs the risk of being destroyed or
  damaged by natural or man-made threats.

5
Natural Hazards
Q1

• Natural hazards are severe and extreme weather
  and climate events that occur naturally in all
  parts of the world.
• Examples of natural hazards (threaten farms)
• Flooding
• Drought
• Insect infestation

6
a) Flooding

• Bangladesh is regularly hit with cyclones and
  monsoons.
• Heavy rains cause flooding and washes away the
  soil.
• This erodes (wears away) the soil.
• Solution dikes are built to protect the farms
  from flooding.

7
b) Drought

• The land dries out due to lack of precipitation.
• Crops need water to grow!
• Soil that is exposed to many droughts can no
  longer absorb water.
• Solution Irrigation!

8
C) Insect infestation
Q2

• Its when swarms of insects damage/eat all the
  crops.
• Locusts ruined crops and harvests in Senegal,
  Africa.
• Senegal relies heavily on farming.
• Solution Spray insecticides!

9
What is a Natural Disaster?
Q3

• It is when a farming area is hit by a natural
  phenomenon.
• Negative consequences of a natural disaster
  include
• Land and crops are destroyed
• Livestock is destroyed
• People die/starve

10
Man-made Hazards

• This type of danger is caused by humans.
• Farmers contaminate/ruin the soil!
• The growing world demand of crops and livestock
  is causing farmers to use practices that is
  damaging farmland.
• Examples of harmful practices include

11
a) Clearing the forests (deforestation)

• Some farmers cut down trees in order to increase
  the size of their farms.
• Without trees, the soil dries up and is worn away
  by the wind. This is called soil erosion.
• The tree is no longer there to hold the soil in
  place to provide soil with nutrients.

12
b) Intensifying crops

• Fallow land is land that is plowed but left alone
  so that it can regain its fertility for crops.
• Farmers give less time for fallow to
  rest(recuperate) in order to grow more crops.
• They also just grow one type of crop
  (monoculture).
• Furthermore, they do not rotate crops from field
  to field.
• Consequently, the soil does not have time to rest
  and regain its nutrients.

13
c) Intensifying livestock breeding

• Farmers raise larger herds to increase rate of
  production.
• These herds trample the ground and damage the
  soil (erodes it).

https//www.youtube.com/watch?vtJpxaWR2J-c
14
d) Irrigating land and using pesticides and
insecticides
Q4

• Farmers uses pesticides and insecticides to
  prevent pests from damaging crops.
• Such chemicals pollute the soil and bodies of
  water in the area (ex rivers, groundwater).

15
Canadian Prairies

• It is a huge territory that covers most of
  southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
• These three provinces make up more than 80 of
  all agricultural land in Canada.
• This region supplies Canada most of its grain and
  meat.
• In 2015, 60 of jobs in the Prairies are related
  to agriculture and food processing.

16
Farming in the Prairies

• Many grains such as wheat, barley, corn, canola
  and oats are grown in the prairies.
• It is a good place to raise livestock because its
  large plains make good pastures.
• A pasture is land covered with grass.

17
Alberta

• Main crops barley, canola and alfalfa.
• It also raises a lot of cattle.
• In 2006, Alberta was the largest meat producer in
  Canada.
• It had 6.4 million head of cattle and close to
• 98 000 bison.

https//www.youtube.com/watch?vuVe_08TntEU
http//canolagrowers.com/on-the-farm/what-is-canol
a/
https//www.youtube.com/watch?vR777UPXjG3c
https//www.youtube.com/watch?vqnqU1tB_8Rk
18
Saskatchewan

• Main crops wheat, canola alfalfa.
• It also raises cattle, veal and bison.
• This province has the most farmland in Canada.

19
Manitoba
Q5

• Main crops wheat, canola, soybeans and
  sunflowers.
• It raises cattle, veal, sheep, lamb and pork.

20
Commercial Farming in the Prairies

• The crops grown and livestock raised in Canada is
  called Canadian agricultural production.
• Canadian Prairies also exports some of its crops
  and livestock to other countries for profit.
• This is known as commercial farming.

21

• Commercial farming focuses on producing the most
  crops and livestock as possible so that it can
  make more profit!
• Commercial farming also means more land is needed
  to produce lots of crops and raise lots of
  cattle.
• As a result, larger farms are replacing small
  farms.

22
Which countries import Canadian crops and
livestock?
Q6

• Unites States of America (U.S.A.) 51.2
• Japan 9.4
• European Union 5.9
• Mexico 4.0
• China 3.7
• Rest of the world 25.8

23
Marketing - CWB

• The role of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) is to
  find Canadian farmers buyers.
• Its job is to sell the wheat and barley products
  at the highest possible price.

24

• It represents 85 000 producers in Western Canada.
• It sells these crops across Canada and around the
  world.

Q7
25
Canadian Grain Commission (CGC)

• This agency is responsible for checking the
  quality of all grain produced by the western
  provinces.

26
Climate in the Prairie Region

• It has long, cold winters.
• It has short, hot summers.
• There is little precipitation. Why?
• The Rocky Mountains block the winds carrying
  humidity from the Pacific Ocean.

27

• Between 1999 and 2004, the region suffered a long
  period of drought, then flooding, following more
  drought in 2009 and 2010.
• These natural hazards hurt crops and made work
  difficult for farmers.

28
Extreme Weather in the Prairie Region

• In 2010, Saskatchewan was hit by tornadoes, hail
  storms, floods, and destructive winds and rains.
• Meteorologists indicate that these extreme
  conditions are becoming more common.

29
Irrigation in the Canadian Prairies

• Irrigation systems have been installed to make
  sure the regions crops receive enough water to
  grow.
• Why? Rainfall is irregular and scarce in this
  region.

30
Irrigated land in Canada
Q8
Canadian Province Percentage of Land Irrigated
Alberta 60
British Columbia 13
Ontario and Quebec 12
Saskatchewan 11
Manitoba 3
Atlantic 1
31
Irrigated vs. Non-irrigated land in Saskatchewan

• Keeping the ground damp protects it from being
  eroded by the wind.
• Why is irrigation good?
• Makes plants grow better
• It produces better quality grain (can be sold at
  a higher price)

32
Irrigated land in Canada
Canadian Province Percentage of Land Irrigated
Alberta 60
British Columbia 13
Ontario and Quebec 12
Saskatchewan 11
Manitoba 3
Atlantic 1
33
Yields of irrigated vs. non-irrigated land in
Sask.
Crop Yield of irrigated land Yield of non-irrigated land
Alfalfa 407 101
Canola 470 193
Green peas 327 168
Seed potatoes 3683 2797
34
Results (yield vs. non-yield)

• Irrigating farm land allows farmers can plant a
  greater selection of crops (diversify).
• They can also plant crops that normally wouldnt
  grow unless more water is present in the soil
  (ex potatoes and sugar beets).

35
Poorly managed irrigation

• Irrigation can lead to
• Soil erosion
• How? Some of the water can carry away fertile
  soil particles as it makes its way to rivers,
  etc.
• Salinization
• Most soils already contains salts that plants
  absorb in the form of nutrients.
• So does the water used to irrigate land!

36

• As a result, the plants that grow in these fields
  contain too much salt.
• These plants also can no longer absorb water and
  their growth is affected.
• If the soil is not irrigated enough, the Suns
  heat evaporates the water too quickly and leaves
  behind salt deposits in the form of white
  crystals.

37
Monoculture and soil depletion

• In the past, farmers used to plant crops that
  absorbed the same minerals in the same fields
  year after year.
• As a result, those minerals were quickly depleted
  (used up) from the soil!

38
Crop rotation

• Rotating crops prevent soil depletion.

39
Use of fertilizers and pesticides
Q9

• Positive

• Negative

• Reduces soil depletion
• Improves yields
• Fights plants and insects that can harm their
  crops

• Pollute waterways
• Creates imbalances in in the aquatic ecosystems

40
Solutions to soil depletion

• There are many things farmers can do to prevent
  soil erosion
• No-till farming (reduces the loss of organic
  matter in soil).
• Rotate crops with specific plants that enrich
  soil with nitrogen.
• Cover soil with mulch (keeps ground
  moist/prevents weeds)
• Growing crops in strips
• Alternate crops grown in the same field and allow
  for fallow fields
• Plant trees to protect their crops/soil from
  wind
• Practise organic farming