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Geography: The Importance Of Farming In The Midwest

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For many years, the Midwest has been the nation’s breadbasket. When settlers first came to the Midwest, they became familiar with the surrounding area and noticed how rich their farming was. Although, the soil was to hard and was not until John Deere created the steel plow was when farming in the Midwest skyrocketed. Now, the Midwest is made up of two-thirds of agriculture lands. This land produces more than 65% of the nation’s corn and soybean. The Midwest’s geography is one of the biggest factors that has helped improve the triumphant of Illinois’s farming because of the Great Lakes and rivers, the flat plains, and the seasonal climates. The Great Lakes, along with the rivers have influenced the farming in the Midwest. There are five great …show more content…

Another common phrase for the flat plains of the Midwest is the Great Plains. There can not be a mountain range in the Midwest. Between the two great mountain ranges in North America: the Appalachians and Rocky Mountains, can be found the Great Plains. Without these flat plains, corn, soybean, and wheat would not be an income to grow, the three major crops of the Midwest. These crops are commonly grown on flat plains, because by using acres and acres to grow the inexpensive seeds means more plants to use for exporting, processing, using for ethanol, and animal feed at a price for income money. Take the Incas for example, they built their society on the mountain range. They were only capable of growing potatoes because they did not have enough flat plains to grow corn or soybean. Growing potatoes was a major success for them just as growing corn, soybean, and wheat is a great success for Midwestern farmers who own land on the Great Plains. The Midwest is mostly known for it’s flat plains, but it also consist of many hills and valleys. Hills and valleys do not take away a massive amount of land for farmers, because the rolling hills of the Midwest is used a lot for livestock and dairy …show more content…

The Midwest has an increase of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere which can trigger crop production. In other words, because of seasons in the Midwest, crops know when to grow. The Midwest also has warm temperatures that lengthen the growing season. The Midwest consist of hot, humid summers, and dry, cold winters. Usually, planting begins in April when the temperature starts to warm up and the soil is soft enough to plant. Harvest is then commenced in October and usually finished by the end of November. Rain is also a huge factor for farming in the Midwest. In the summer, during planting season, most years consist of mild and medium rain intake, so for the most part, rain is not much of a problem for farmers in the Midwest.
In conclusion, the Midwest, of the United States, has major geographic features that improve the farming industry. Without the Great Lakes, flat plains, and the Midwest climate, farming in the area would not be accomplished. With these key ideas combines, farmers in the Midwest grow their crops on the richest, black soil in North America, if not the world. Ever since the first settlers of America found the rich soil between the two mountain ranges, the farming industry has

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