Essay about Land Use and its Effects on Farms

In William Cronon’s book Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England, he discuses the ecological history of New England from the late sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century. He demonstrates how the New Englanders changed the land by illustrating the process of the change in the landscape and the environment. In the Preface Cronon states, “My thesis is simple: the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes—well known to historians—in the ways these people organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations—less well-known to historians—in the region's plant

By the late 1800s, America was transitioning from an economy based on agriculture to one based on industry. Although this transformation made the United Stated richer and more powerful than it had ever been before, it caused farmers to face numerous problems to which they found themselves unable to successfully overcome. Even though many farmers moved into the industrial workforce, the ones who wished to continue agricultural work faced problems such as overproduction and tariff policies. Also, the farmers lost their political power due to the decreased focus on agriculture.

Since the time of when early settlers arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, farming has proven to be a reliable solution to many crises within the food industry. After all, learning how to farm from the Native Americans saved the colonies from famine during the 17th century. Fast-forward a couple centuries to the 1800s. During the 1840s, commercial farming became a new trend as farmers began seeing quicker production and a bigger profit. The inventions of irrigation and chemical fertilizers also happened during this time. Subsequently, these farming techniques have further influenced the ones today. However, the introduction of organic farming methods has created uproar within the agricultural industry due to its impressive success. Polyface farms have become the leading icon for how organic farming methods can and will be most successful in the journey towards revitalizing the United States’ food industry.

As a person that has grown most of my own food, without chemicals or engine powered equipment, for the last 15 years and lesser so for many more years I can relate to some degree what it may have been like for a farmer in the 1800’s (I even live in a house built in 1850).

America — a land known for its ideals of freedom and new opportunities, a nation built under the idea that every man and women is created equal. However, the definition of what makes a person an American is entirely different from what it is that makes up America, itself. J.Hector St. John Crevecoeur, author of Letters from an American Farmer (1782), exposes what he believes makes an American. However, when compared to the standards of what makes an American in today’s world, it seems that becoming an American then was much simpler then, than it is today. The definition of an American is always evolving due to the influences of our changing nation. During a simpler time, Crevecoeur defined an American as someone of European

There are numerous ethnographic surrealist films that have an intriguing relationship to aesthetics and politics. A film that exemplifies this relationship is “Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan” (Land Without Bread). This film is only 27-minutes and is directed by the infamous Luis Bunuel in 1933. Bunuel was a Spanish filmmaker of the 1920’s to the 1970’s. He is often attributed to being one of the major contributors to the surrealist movement of the 1920’s. “Ethnographic surrealism is a utopian construct, a statement at once about past and future possibilities for cultural analysis.”(Clifford, 119) ‘Land Without Bread’ has a clear connection between politics and aesthetics. It uses many techniques, specifically

I care deeply about the planet Earth, the home humans originate from, so it pains me to watch “modern” society devastate natural life across the board. I feel personally connected to the issue of how we use our land. Having lived in the Lee County area since birth, I have noticed just in our own little part of the world how much “development” can change things. There used to be so much more plant life: trees, grasses, flowers and a myriad of other greenery. What was once considered “empty” lots, by some, have been adapted to suit human desires be it additional roads, restaurants, shopping malls, and a continuing spread of “chain” corporate industries. Beyond human structures, huge amounts of land also are cultivated for industrial farming

1. Railroads- Railroads in each area were often controlled by one company, enabling those railroads to charge what they wanted. Railroads were the only way for many western farmers to get their produce to market and high prices were always charged. Railroads controlled storage, elevators, and warehouses so the prices the farmers paid were very high.

Like much of the midwest, Indiana is especially dependent on agricultural success to boost their economy. Farming is the backbone of the Hoosier state, with 57,500 farming operations functioning in 2016, per the United States Department of Agriculture. While Indiana relies heavily on the agricultural sector of their economy, the agricultural sector in turn often relies upon subsidization. According to “Food Policy: Looking Forward from the Past”, a book written by Arlene Spark and Janel Obenchain, “An agricultural subsidy is governmental assistance paid to farmers and agribusiness to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence the cost and supply of such commodities.” Now that we accurately

Arguing that the majority of farmers during the Great Depression benefitted from the government policies produced through President Roosevelt’s New Deal is an inaccurate claim. While history textbooks highlight the improvement of finances for people in rural areas in the United States of America, the personal experiences of family farmers contradict those textbooks. Writers of textbooks about American history should consider looking further into the delicate topic of how the Great Depression effected common farm families. In the West, farmers endured the Dust Bowl. In the North, people in rural areas competed to make a profit. Although statistics show the most economic damage of the Great Depression beginning at the end of 1929, small farm families refer to the effects of the Depression dating back as early as 1925 since government policies mostly benefitted large farm industries as small farms were forced to foreclose.

Every year the Wildlife Bureau of the DNR purchases land for public use and wildlife habitats. The restoration of Iowa’s prairie land is considered important because it can restore the natural ecosystem, benefit water quality, and reduces soil erosion caused by runoff. Other farming practices such as having buffer strips near streams and cover crops have helped manage the soil erosion in Iowa, but since 1850 we have lost nearly 14 inches in topsoil depth and growing.

The raising of cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and more are the reason for most of the destruction of the environment on the planet. Over all farm land covers about 38% of the worlds land area. So humans can continue to eat meat millions of animals and insects are losing their homes and even going extinct so more farm

The Conservation Reserve Program and Conservation Security Program are controlled by the USDA and aim to steady production. The reserve program pays farmers to replace crops with ground cover on an acre basis. The security program works to limit the production on the excess land freed up because of the controls on cash crop production. These are considered to be the most controversial government programs because they technically off-set issues caused directly by agricultural subsidies.

Agriculture was the most important economic activity in America from the founding of Virginia in 1607 to about 1890. Although farming declined rapidly in relative economic importance in the twentieth century, U.S. agriculture continued to be the most efficient and productive in the world. Its success rested on abundant fertile soil, a moderate climate, the ease of private land ownership, growing markets for farm produce at home and abroad, and the application of science and technology to farm operations.

I woke up before my alarm. A distant square of eerie half-twilight from the window held the familiar outline of the locust tree. In the dark, I fumbled to dress without waking my parents. I slipped outside.