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.

12 comments:

Liz Mays said...

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.

Candi said...

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.

Brimful Curiosities said...

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

Claremont First Ward said...

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.

Cascia Talbert said...

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

Amy said...

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.

heidi said...

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. :-)

The Blonde Duck said...

I feel smart now.

More Than Words said...

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

Frizzy said...

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!

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

How cool! I didn't know that either.

Have a great weekend!
Sherry

Controlling My Chaos said...

Very cool. I didn't know that.


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