Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
In the West, the lack of rainfall led to an early specialization in ranching. Since
1950, crop cultures have been developed with the widespread use of irrigation,
based on the Californian model, wherever possible. On average, crops only use half
of the agricultural land in the United States; the other half is dedicated to pastures.
Over 64 million hectares are irrigated, representing 12% of all cultivated land (see
Figures 2.5 and 2.6).
Irrigation is used very little in mid-northern states, with the exception of
Nebraska. In the South, irrigation was developed predominantly in Florida, but also
in western Texas and along the valleys of the Rio Grande and the Mississippi. In the
West however, irrigation is widespread. Virtually all cultivated land is irrigated in
Arizona and California, and half of the land is still irrigated in Colorado. As the
leading consumer of water, agriculture contributes very little to finance the cost of
bringing freshwater to their fields. Today, urban dwellers and farmers fight over
access to water resources in the West. While the logic of trade markets would
simply provide water to the highest bidder, this would be likely to bring about the
demise of the most productive irrigated agriculture of the country. Southwestern
states are therefore forced to come to an agreement and regulate the use of water
(Colorado Compact). Similar problems arise in the southwestern region of the Great
Plains, as well as, paradoxically, in Florida. Indeed, despite a very humid climate,
the freshwater resources of Florida, which is a karst region devoid of any major
rivers, are disputed by three user-groups: urban consumption, irrigation and the
preservation of wetlands.
2.2. An agriculture which does not influence settlement
The number of family farms has continued to decline since 1920. The
agricultural census of 2002 counted fewer than 1.1 million farms, which represents
89% of actively operating farms. The remaining farms are all corporate farms, i.e.,
farms owned by corporations, with farmers who are merely employees (see
Figure 2.7).
Family agriculture is still omnipresent in the South, particularly in the uplands of
the Appalachians and the Ozark Mountains. Corporate farming, on the other hand,
has developed in areas where farming is most profitable, either due to the intensity
of production in California, Florida, or the northeastern region of “Atlantic
Seaboard”, or because of the number of farms concentrated in the western inlands
(Montana and Wyoming in particular), or in the fertile Mississippi Valley (Yazoo
River valley).
