prairie west Agriculture Flashcards
What is Aridity?
areas that are ‘dryland’
low levels of precipitation, lack of moisture in the air
great plains was in a rain shadow by the mountains acting as a barier
What was the Palister Expidition?
when the HBC couldnt maintain the land anylonger, John Palister lead a team to go assess the land to see if it was farmable to sell to people.
He found a middle ground in the prairie west where animals could feed.
named the Pallister’s triangle
how did Canada expand to the west?
- building a transcontental railway
- immigration and settlement of the west
- increased tariffs on foreign goods, to help boost the Canadian economy
Land ownership
you had to be 21+ and show that you could develop it
land titles were taken away from the indigenous people, they were put on reserves
Canada divided up the land into a grid sysem where you could get a quarter of a square to farm
Who was Sandford Flemming?
Who was John Macoun?
sandford flemming was the Head botonist on the expedition lead by John Macoun to survey the land and find a good path for the CPR.
He came back and said that the all of John Pallister’s triangle was farmable, but he went in an extremely high wet year.
How was imigration promoted?
‘the last best west’ - all of the US was filled up
imigration spiked after the CPR was completed - harsh traveling without it
Alberta + Saskatchewan - 1905 confederation
How did people adapt to aridity?
what was the Dominion Lands Act of 1872?
- a change from agriculture to ranching
many streams and rivers for cows to drink from - Dominions land act of 1872- government stoped ranches from growing into big companies, wanted more people with smaller ranches
What is irrigation?
moving water from one place and useing it in another place through dams canals pipes
it was expensive, labor intensive
large projects happened, but not very successful
What is Marquis Wheat?
William sanders - learned that if you combine Red fife and hard red calcutta ( matured later) wheat, you can create a hardier, better wheat called marquis wheat, higher yield, more gluten, better bread.
shorter - withstand winds
became a Canadian staple - 500 mil. $ in value
combining agriculture with science.
Summer fallow
allowing land to rest for a year before working the land again -
disadvantages: no production, degrades soil firtility, more erosion and wind
Dust bowl crisis of 1930’s
many many dust storms caused by droughts, summer fallow and the Great depression
Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration 1935
recovering from the dustbowl crisis & GDP
Helps farmers conserve soil, prevents erosion
a move to help people stay on the land
what is strip farming?
alternating fallow fields and crop fields to prevent erosion
Trash cover
conserving soil, leaving the leftovers of last years crops on top
