Wednesday, June 23, 2010

What I Learned on My Summer Vacation

Look what I learned on our vacation: Terracing:-)

I had never heard of this type of farming but we saw tons of it in Iowa like this:



According to Wickipedia:


In agriculture, a terrace is designed to slow or prevent the rapid run-off of irrigation water. Often such land is formed into multiple terraces, giving a stepped appearance. This form of land use is prevalent in many countries, and is used for crops requiring a lot of water, such as rice. Terraces are also easier for both mechanical and manual sowing and harvesting than a steep slope would be. Terracing slows down the speed of water and therefore allow more run-off to be sucked up by the soil.

My MiL said that each "step" is two combines wide which is best illustrated in this picture:


So, I get a nickle for learning something new:-) What did you learn on your vacation.
at

12 comments:

  1. Liz MaysJune 23, 2010 at 6:00 AM

    I had heard of it before, but I've never seen it. The sad thing is that I wouldn't have recognized it if I had! I'm glad you showed this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CandiJune 23, 2010 at 7:55 AM

    What an interesting fact! The house I practically grew up in had a terraces in the front yard. After a good hard rain, we'd go out looking for arrow heads. We always found at least one every time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brimful CuriositiesJune 23, 2010 at 10:12 AM

    Yes, Iowa certainly does have a lot of fields. Several farmers in our area use terrace farming or what I call strip farming.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Claremont First WardJune 23, 2010 at 10:18 AM

    Isn't it amazing that each region is different and that one way of "farming" doesn't work everywhere? i love how innovative we are as a species.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cascia TalbertJune 23, 2010 at 11:18 AM

    That is very interesting. I don't know a whole lot about farming but your photos are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AmyJune 23, 2010 at 3:06 PM

    that is such an amazing picture.. I learned also.. On Vacation I learned to eat a lot and get as much rest as you can.

    ReplyDelete
  7. heidiJune 23, 2010 at 4:58 PM

    I haven't gone on vacation yet, but when I do I bet I'll learn a lot! WE're going to a couple of historical ghost towns and a hand on kids science museum. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Blonde DuckJune 23, 2010 at 5:38 PM

    I feel smart now.

    ReplyDelete
  9. More Than WordsJune 23, 2010 at 7:02 PM

    Wow, I never knew! But, I think the last time I saw land like this was 20 years ago! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  10. FrizzyJune 23, 2010 at 10:39 PM

    Pretty cool picture and info.

    I learned never to take the "shorter" distance while driving along the coast of Oregon. It's windy and scary in the dark. The highway is faster and more direct!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sherry @ Lamp Unto My FeetJune 25, 2010 at 4:20 PM

    How cool! I didn't know that either.

    Have a great weekend!
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  12. Controlling My ChaosJune 27, 2010 at 11:28 PM

    Very cool. I didn't know that.

    ReplyDelete