1. Get out a scratch piece of paper…
List the top 5 natural resources used/consumed by humans (with 1 being the natural resource used the most and 5 being the resource used 5th most)
5. Coal – 188 years left
4. Phosphorus – 50 to 100 years
3. Natural gas – 58.6 years
2. Oil – 46.2 years
1. Freshwater – 1.8 billion people living in areas with absolute water scarcity by 2025

2. Chapter 13 Section 2: Farming the Great Plains
Settling the West
Chapter 13
Section 2: Farming the Great Plains

3. Geography of the Great Plains

4. Geography of the Plains
Many people considered the Great Plains to be the “Great American Desert” and the land was uninhabitable.
Rainfall on the Plains averages less than 20 inches per year
Trees & large vegetation grow naturally only along rivers and streams.
Why would this be a problem for potential farmers?

5. The Beginning of Settlement
During the late 1800s several factors convinced people to try their luck with farming the Great Plains
Construction of railroads
A decade of above average rainfall
Homestead Act - $10 can get you 160 acres of land.
~$150 today
Cost for an acre of land in Kansas today?
$2,000 - $4,000

6. The Wheat Belt
By the 1860s, farmers on the Plains were employing newly designed steel plows, seed drills, reapers, and threshing machines.
New inventions allowed large landholders to make quick profits because it sped up the harvest.
Wheat became the most profitable crop in the Great Plains
Reaper was mass-produced in Plano, IL in 1831
Plano High School’s mascot = Reaper

7. The Wheat Belt Top 3 wheat producers in the U.S. in 2011 Kansas
North Dakota
Montana

8. Quick Review
Which of these states would NOT be considered a part of the Great Plains: Nebraska, North Dakota, Indiana, Oklahoma
What were two reasons why the Great Plains were originally given the nickname “The Great American Desert”?
What factors convinced people to farm the Great Plains?
How did new inventions impact farming in the Great Plains?
Little rainfall, vegetation only grows along rivers
Railroads, unusually abundant rain, cheap land
Made it more profitable, helped make wheat a cash crop