The agricultural core of the United States includes the states of Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. The area receives adequate rainfall with little annual variability, coupled with ample growing seasons, makes the region ideal for growing corn and other mid- latitude agricultural crops.[1]
Does this vast area even have anything in common with Seattle?
Yes! (Kinda) Seattle doesn’t have vast and sprawling corn fields, but it does have similarities in climate. Interestingly, both Seattle and St. Louis receive the exact same average of 37 inches in annual rainfall.[2]
Agriculture: Demands for greater efficiency and the economic benefits of large-scale agricultural operations have led to a decline in the number of small family farms in the agricultural core.[3] A very interesting entity has taken over Seattle called urban agriculture. Urban agriculture is used by people that have very small spaces and would like to plant many different varieties of vegetables and sometimes even raise chickens.[4]
[1] Stephen S. Birdsall, Eugene J. Palka, Jon C. Malinowski, and Margo L. Price, Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada 7th Edition (Wiley, 2008), 208.
[2] “St. Louis Weather,” accessed May 1, 2011. http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/missouri/st-louis.htm.
[3] Birdsall, Palka, Malinowski, and Price, Landscapes of the U.S. and Canada, 208.
[4] “Seattle’s New Urban-Ag Models,” last modified August 17, 2010. http://www.grist.org/article/food-seattles-new-urban-ag-models-are-sprouting-in-friendly-soil.
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