Technology has helped the modern create much more available food based on even less available land. Crops are grown in closed indoor environments on shelves, in some cases. The climate is controlled, and this can result in much less required water as the water cycle nature keeps the water cycling between the plants and the controlled atmosphere. Robots now harvest crops which reduces inefficiencies and improves production. Computer modeling has improved farming intelligence. Farmers will now consult their models before planted and pick their most fertile areas of land before they even get started. These worksheets will introduce students to traditional farming and the advances that are being led by the technology revolution. We will look at the concept of genetically modified organisms and the culture that is for an against that technology. We also look at the beef industry and the production process. Students will also explore the concept of organic and community supported agricultural.
Printable Farm Worksheets
Click the buttons to print each worksheet and answer key.
What Is a Farm? Reading Worksheet
A family farm is the oldest way of managing agricultural activities in the U.S. Once, all farms were owned and operated by families, and passed down from generation to generation.
What Is a Farm? Questions
Across the history of farming, farmers have solved the water problem by building reservoirs and canals to store water and channel if to their fields using pipes and sprinkler systems.
The History of Agriculture
Before the development of agriculture, people lived a primarily hunter-gatherer lifestyle, moving from place to place as they hunted wild animals and foraged for wild, edible plants.
QUESTIONS: History of Agriculture
By what time period were almost all the people on Earth dependent on agriculture?
Vertical Farming
Aeroponics was developed by the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA). NASA defines aeroponics as "growing plants in an air/mist environment with no soil and very little water."
QUESTIONS: Vertical Farming
Aquaponics combines growing plants and fish together in the same ecosystem.
Farming Corn in the U.S.
Many thousands of acres of corn are grown at one time in this way. When only one crop is grown on a farm in massive quantities, it is called monoculture.
QUESTIONS: Farming Corn in the U.S.
Seeds are planted by another tool that attaches to a tractor called a row planter. The row planter makes long, narrow trenches in the soil, drops in the seeds, and covers them with soil.
Genetically Modified Organisms
The Green Revolution was not without its problems. In return for high yields, these crops required the input of chemical fertilizers, applications of pesticide, and irrigation.
QUESTIONS: Genetically Modified Organisms
Later, scientists came to understand how these new strains were developed. This understanding led to the next revolution in how food is produced: genetic modification.
Agriculture and Science
Today most food is produced by massive commercial enterprises that are able to feed many more people than farmers in the 1900s.
QUESTIONS: Agriculture and Science
Traditionally, farmers used herb-based pesticides, plucked insect pests off of plants by hand, bred stronger varieties, rotated crops, and used companion planting.
Industrial Beef Production and Alternatives
The ancestors of domestic bovines roamed grasslands, deserts, scrublands, and forests on every continent except Antarctica.
QUESTIONS: Industrial Beef Production and Alternatives
Today, cows are an industrial commodity. They spend the first six to eight months of their lives grazing in unnatural environments with no shelter from extreme weather.
What is Organic Farming?
The goal of organic farming is to produce food within a holistic system that is both sustainable and in harmony with the environment.
QUESTIONS: What is Organic Farming?
In order to use the word organic on their products, an organic farm must be certified organic by one of the certifying bodies.
Community Supported Agriculture
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a system in which customers can by local food directly from the farmer that produces it.
QUESTIONS: Community Supported Agriculture
CSAs typically operate as subscription services. The customer purchases a "share" that entitles them to a regular allotment of vegetables for the duration of the growing season. Customers pick up their shares at designated times and locations.
From Family Farm to Factory Farm
The USDA defines a family farm as "any operation selling $1,000 or more of agricultural products in a year." However, this is an outdated definition, since $1,000 used to be considerably more money than it is today.
QUESTIONS: From Family Farm to Factory Farm
Nearly a quarter of the farms that were in America in the 1970s are now gone, most of these midsized family farms whose livelihood relied on growing grain or raising livestock.
How Does Farming Work?
If you've never been on a farm, you have a vague idea of how meat and grain get to the local supermarket. But farming is a complex process that takes a great deal of time, energy, and good luck. For those of us living on the grid, farmers are a must.
Farming works through the cultivation of healthy soil to grow crops. The more healthy or fertile soil is, the better the chance of producing strong crops. Modern machinery goes a long way toward helping farmers plant various seeds to grow different kinds of food.
A farm is a plot of land that use to grow crops and livestock to produce food. People that own and operate farms are called farmers. The practice of farming dates back thousands of years. Water is vital part of farming and is usually the major barrier to having a productive year for farmers. Having too little water will not allow the soil to be fertile enough for plants to thrive. Having too much water from flooding can also be a major problem it can wash away the plants and the nutrients in the soil. Today many farms are operated by major corporations that have farms that are ten time greater in size and capacity of the family farmer. The main bread winning crops are corn, potatoes, soybeans, sugar beets, and wheat. Technology has helped farmers be more successful. In the 1930s a typical farmer could produce enough food for up to four people. Today, every farmer can grow enough food to feed one hundred people.
How Farmers Cultivate Crops
Midwestern states consist of enormous growing fields. This is because the soil here is highly fertile. And to find out why, we must travel back to the ice age, when huge glaciers pushed fresh soil down from Canada, tilling it to near perfection for crops.
Other parts of the world have similar benefits. In these locations, there will likely be farms.
The basic process of growing crops goes like this:
- Tilling (turning and mixing the soil to allow growth).
- Sowing or planting.
- Feeding (water and sunlight).
Let’s explore these processes below:
Tilling
If you've ever been on a drive through the country, you may have seen tractors dragging huge, bladed metal trailers across a field. Those are tillage devices. They loosen the soil to circulate air, sun, and water. Loose soil also makes it easier for seeds to grow.
Some farmers use a no-till method. Not tilling the soil impedes soil erosion and reduces the risk of unwanted chemicals being absorbed into the crop. Skipping the tilling process also saves farmers time and money. No-till farming has gained popularity of late due to its environmentally friendly technique.
Sowing and Planting
Seeds can be sown or planted. To sow is to scatter seeds over a crop section and bury them where they land. To plant is to dig rows in which to drop the seeds. In both cases, the seeds are buried. Today's farmers use enormous seed drills for sowing and planters for planting.
So what seeds do farmers sow, and what seeds do they plant? That depends on which suits the seeds best. For example, oats and wheat are normally sown, whereas corn is planted. Agricultural training enlightens farmers with all they need to know about sowing and planting.
Water and Sunlight
Healthy crops need enough water and sunlight. The more perfect the mixture of both, the stronger the crop becomes. Problems show up when there's too much or not enough of either.
Farmers cannot simply cross their fingers and hope for the right amount of rain for water. Instead, they take matters into their own hands, sometimes by flooding the field and bringing water in from another source. These techniques are called irrigation.
Too much rain causes problems, too. Over-saturated soil weakens the fertilizer farmers use to enrich the harvest. When this happens, the weak or "leached" fertilizer needs to be replaced. And farmers must decide whether to replace the fertilizer or cut the over-saturated section of the crop as a loss.
Crops absorb sunlight to produce the nutrients needed for growth. Excess nutrients are converted into oxygen and released. This process is called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is crucial because, without it, other life forms on the planet (like you and me) would have no air to breathe.
The Role of Animals in Farming
Not all farming is about growing crops. Animals comprise a major part of the farming cycle. There are many farm animals, such as pigs, chickens, and cattle. These animals provide even more food to the masses. They each have different jobs, such as to produce:
- Chicken
- Beef
- Pork
- Eggs
- Milk
- Wool
Shepherd dogs can herd these animals into gated areas when needed. Humans also do this job on horseback.
Conclusion
It takes a big machine to feed the almost eight billion people who live on this planet. Only we don't call it a machine - we call it farming. Farming works by growing crops in fertile soil. The crops are then harvested and shipped to distributors. It is a complex process that society cannot live without.