| ANSWERS To return to the questions, click here.
1. a. In about 1700, Jethro Tull invented the first successful farm
implement with internal moving parts. His invention was the seed drill, a device
that plants seeds in a row. Before this, farmers scattered seeds across the
ground by hand (broadcast seeding). This was very wasteful since many of the
seeds fail to take root, or are eaten by birds. Back in 1968 a band in London
was changing names almost weekly. When they first gained some recognition, they
were using the name Jethro Tull, so they stuck with the name.
2. a. Well, we have to admit that we haven’t counted the plants, but
we can calculate an estimate. We know the number of tractor trips across the
field, based on the length of the field and the width of the tractor. We know
the corn planter plants 3 rows each pass across the field. We know the length of
each pass. And finally, we know the distance between seeds at which we set the
planter. Of course the planter is not perfect. Sometimes it skips a spot, and
sometimes it plants two seeds instead of one. Then there’s the question of how
many seeds and young plants were eaten by the birds. Given all that, we figure
there were something in excess of 250,000 corn plants established in this field.
3. b. Corn and turkeys were first domesticated in the area that is now
Mexico. Chocolate and tomatoes were domesticated in Central America. Can you
imagine living is a world without these foods?
4. a. This is true only if everyone believes that there is no
difference between any two given apples or any other pair of fruits or
vegetables. We started our farm in 2001 because we believe that there is an
ever-growing population of folks who recognize that there is a world of
difference between
1) anonymous food grown with the aid of a host of poison chemicals,
picked long ago, shipped miles & miles, and
2) local fruits & vegetables grown with care and concern for the
land, the workers, and the community, fully ripened, and freshly
harvested. You can taste the difference.
5. b. Washington farmers grow blueberries, blackberries, Concord
grapes, and cranberries. We also grow a lot of raspberries and strawberries, but
those are not native to North America.
6 b. Old timers living in the area tell of the days lettuce was
shipped from the Sammamish Valley all over the US. This was before the
development of iceberg lettuce, which grows well in warmer climates. Many dairy
cows also inhabited the valley, but most milk was and still is consumed near the
dairy.
7. b. The acre is an old measurement that comes from the amount of
land a farmer could plow in one day with a team of oxen. A regulation football
field is about 1.3 times the size of one acre. The size of this corn maze is six
acres.
8. b. A travel distance of 1,500 miles means that the food cannot be
as fresh, sweet and flavorful as food grown locally. Produce is an average of
two weeks old before it shows up at the grocery. Buying your food locally means
you are not paying the cost of shipping all that distance. Also, cities have
only a 5-day supply of food on hand. You might look at buying local food as
doing your bit to strengthen homeland security.
9. b. In 1838, when the first dairy cow arrived in Washington
Territory, about 75% of the U.S. population lived on small farms. Most had a cow
or two for milk. There are now about 265,000 cows producing milk in Washington
State.
10. b. Imagine the shipping, handling, processing, & packaging
involved in getting the typical item to the grocery store. It’s said that the
cost of the packaging for a box of cornflakes is greater than the amount the
farmer earns from the corn in the box.
11. a. Washington grows over half the apples produced in the U.S. Many
are shipped overseas, where the Washington apple is prized. For a time, many of
the apples grown in China were shipped in boxes labeled "Washington
Apples." It’s not only music and computer software that face piracy
issues around the world.
12. a. In the late 40s, the field where you are now standing was part
of one of the 25 dairy farms in the valley. Sammamish Valley farms were mostly
dairies and truck farms, which grew vegetables. However, the biggest export from
farms at the south end of the valley near Redmond was baby chicks! Now Redmond
is known for exporting computer software around the world.
13. a. Many of the crops we grow depend on visits from bees. These
include pumpkins, strawberries, raspberries, apples, blueberries, zucchini,
gourds, cucumbers, to name just a few. Beans and tomatoes are self-pollinating.
Corn pollen travels by wind.
14. a. According to the USDA, the US loses 3,200,000 acres (5000
square miles) to development each year. While this is still a small fraction of
the total land in the US, much is the best farmland, since many towns and cities
were founded where the potential for farming is greatest. Between 1945 and 1992,
seventy-five percent of King County’s farmland disappeared.
15. b. More than 80% of the U.S. commercial crop of raspberries is
grown right here in the Puget Sound area. In fact, most of the berries of all
types for jam, ice cream, and yogurt production in the U.S. come from the Puget
Sound area.
16. a. The first generally useful all-purpose gasoline tractors became
readily available in the 1920s. However, the Great Depression slowed down the
conversion to tractor power. Many farmers could not afford the expenses of
purchasing, maintaining, and fueling a tractor during the Depression. However,
they could keep and feed horses. Once the economy started moving again, more and
more farmers converted to tractors. Some farmers, like the Amish, have
successfully continued to farm with horses to this day. In fact, there is a
small but growing group of farmers farming with draft animals.
17. b. The Pilgrims certainly ate wild turkey and plenty of pumpkins.
In fact, pumpkins were one of the staples of their diet. However, the closest
they had to modern-day pumpkin pie was a whole pumpkin, hollowed out, filled
with milk, and baked.
18. b. Nowadays less than 2% of the U.S. population lives on farms
producing food & fiber. Even so, agriculture is still the largest industry
in the U.S. Twenty percent of our population is involved in one of the many
tasks in processing and transporting the many agricultural products we buy.
19. b. It’s true! Horses can’t vomit, which is one reason you
should never feed a horse that is not yours unless instructed by the owner.
Horses often fall ill when they eat poison weeds or too much rich food. There is
little the horse owner can do except try to comfort the horse and wait to see if
it recovers.
Horses’ eyes have 2 color receptors, rather than the three that peoples’
eyes have. Some people are missing one of the usual 3 color receptors and see
more or less the same colors as horses!
20. a. Traditionally, farmers have figured that they have to devote
one-fourth of the farmland to supporting the horses on the farm. This includes
grain for extra energy for the hard working horses and pasture in the summer and
hay in the winter. Another horse-farming saying is: "The farmer works two
hours for the horse for every hour the horse works for the farmer." Horses
require a lot of care; providing feed and bedding, training, grooming, shoeing,
doctoring and more.
21. b. Many farmers are loyal to a particular brand of tractor. John
Deere equipment is green & yellow. The Allis Chalmers color is orange.
Kubota uses another shade of orange. Massey Fergusons are red and gray. The
South 47 Farm’s main tractor is a John Deere. We have a small Kubota tractor
for lighter work, and an old 1947 Allis Chalmers G cultivating tractor that we
use to cultivate (weed) our corn and pumpkins.
|
