US Agricultural Patterns

Livestock Patterns• Cows -- Dairy and Beef

Notice how Beef cows are so widely dispersed.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Beef/beef.htm

But beef cattle in feedlots are more highly concentrated.

What are you more likely to see in Iowa, cows or pigs?

Crop Patterns

• Climate of North America (US)

• Corn, Soybeans, Sorghum, Citrus, Cotton, Wheat

http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/aencmed/targets/maps/map/T048696A.gif

http://www.worldbook.com/wb/images/content_spotlight/climates/north_america_climate.gif

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/pcpn/us_precip.gif

Does this match with your Act.K map?

Why does this map of Soybeans so closely match the corn map?

Corn – Soybean Crop Rotation

• It’s all about the nitrogen—a critical element for all life

• Corn draws nitrogen from the soil (and air) and it gets used and stored in the plant and especially the kernels.

• Soybeans draw nitrogen from the air and store it in nodules in the root system. When the plant dies, that nitrogen remains in the soil.

Does this match your Act.K map? (notice the next map)

Notice the irrigation in western Kansas and Texas