- Easier - Farming was
once the chief way of life in nearly every country.
People cannot live without food, and nearly all their
food comes from crops and animals raised on farms. Many
other materials such as cotton and wool also come from
plants and animals raised on farms. Not many people farm
for a living any more, but farming remains the most
important occupation in the world.
- Harder - Prior to the
twentieth century, the typical American family lived on a
small farm. They raised hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens,
and planted corn, fruits, garden vegetables, hay, and
wheat. Everyone worked long and hard, but the results
were often meager. Families barely harvested enough food
for themselves. This situation began to change during the
last half of the 1800's and it changed remarkably in the
- Scientific methods and labor-saving machinery have
made farming increasingly productive. The development of
improved plant varieties and fertilizers has helped
double and even triple the yields of some major crops.
Scientific livestock care and breeding have helped
increase the amount of meat and products that animals
produce. At the same time, the use of tractors and other
modern farm equipment has sharply reduced the need for
- As farming has become less important as a way of life
in the United States, it has become more important as a
business enterprise. Today's successful farmers are
expert not just in agriculture but also proficient in
accounting, marketing, and finance. Farms that are not
run in a businesslike fashion have great difficulty
Around the World
- A web-project based on the children's book,
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. Students contacted
farms or ranches around the world who have agreed to
host their 'paper student' for a period of two weeks
- What is family farming? Where does our food come
from? How do farmers relate to their
environment? What is life like
in a farm community? How has farming changed through
history? What will shape farming in the future?
Ag Page (Illinois)
- This website reminds you that agriculture is more
than farming. Learn about crops and animals produced
in Illinois and the ways in which they are used,.
Farm (Colorado farm and ranch)
- Includes pictures of the animals, the equipment,
and some of the plants and food that grows around
- Using the websites, get involved in a
farming activity or project:
- Create A Farm. After skimming two
or three websites and learning about farms
(Find out what a 'prairie skyscraper' is at
Mania), create your own 'make-believe'
farm or ranch. Some considerations are the
geographic location and type of land and
climate, the number of acres, needed
constructions of sheds, buildings, etc., and
the type of crops and livestock (if any?).
Make a map or layout drawing or a model of
your farm. Give it a name.
- Interview Someone. Interview a
person who has lived on a farm. Record the
interview in some way; take notes or
audiotape or videotape the process. Read the
advice at Voices
at the Timeless Coast. Visit Joanne Todd
History Questions and Oral
History, then prepare your own list of
questions. Find out what farm life was like
for them. Identify the geographic location,
the type of farm, and the time period. Find
out what they did for fun, what chores they
liked or disliked, and what they did during
the different seasons. Publish your results;
place it in the local library.
- Focus on the Future. Examine
farming today at sites like Successful
Farming: Agriculture Online, Death
of a Dream, and What
is Sustainable Agriculture?. Consider
what form farms will be 50 years from now.
Describe a farm in the year 2050. Include all
important changes that you predict will take
place. Share your ideas with others in a
- Chart Farm Products. Select an
animal, fruit, or other plant crop. Pick a
specific product group like soybeans, cotton,
poultry, apples, rice, sunflowers, corn, etc.
Diagram and label the production process from
the farm to the market, identifying as many
different products as possible. Show
different varieties. Include drawings and
pictures. Make it colorful. Create a
- Visit a Farm. Visit a nearby farm
or ranch. Take along all types of recording
equipment. Audiotape farm sounds. Videotape
farm activities. Photograph farm people,
equipment, crops and animals. Show the world
a unique farm in your area by adding your own
farm website to the Internet.
- Complete A Farming Webquest.
Follow the procedures found at one of these
online webquest activities:
- 1) Barnyard Friends: A Visit to a Farm
by Shannon Burnette (Grades K-3) http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/webq/webq43/shannon.htm
- 2) Celebrating the Harvest (Grade 3-6)
- 3) Farmer Brown's Backwards Farm
(Grade K-2) http://curry.edschool.Virginia.EDU/go/edis771/98webquests/student
- 4) Farmers, Farmers Everywhere
- 5) On the Farm by by Eulalia P.
Castelo (Grade K-2) http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/chavez/farm/
- 6) Wow! It's A Cow (Grade K-2)
- Websites By Kids For Kids
(1999 ThinkQuest Junior Project)
- This website includes information about the
beginning of farming in Egypt, the raising of wheat
and cotton, biographies of Eli Whitney and John Deere,
a trip to the farm, and lots more.
(1998 ThinkQuest Project)
- There was a time when all food was produced on
small family farms. In time the food production trend
turned towards larger, mechanized farming operations.
These farms rely heavily on equipment and
in Illinois (2000 ThinkQuest
- This award winning project talks about various
kinds of farming done in Illinois from crops to
animals. Explore how the animals are raised. What
kinds of machinery help the farmer do his chores? Find
out how different farm-oriented organizations interact
with the community.
- More Farming Websites
- This South African Website focuses on useful
information regarding the use of electrical technology in
Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom
- Website of a foundation whose mission is to teach
the importance of agriculture for the benefit of
everyone. Includes ideas for students and teachers,
'Ag Weblinks,' and lots more.
of a Dream from PBS Online
- This is a companion website to the program that
examined the current state of American agriculture and
- Related Websites:
- 2) Harvest of Risk http://www.agweek.com/harvest/
- 3) Secretary's Memorandum 500-6: Sustainable
Development from U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
- 4) Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms
from U.S. Dept. of Agriculture http://warp.nal.usda.gov:80/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/srb9902.htm
- 5) What is Sustainable Agriculture? at
University of California, Davis, CA
At the Farm from MIKSIKE
- This interactive site from Canada involves
interdisciplinary thematic lessons, in this instance
using a farming theme.
Farms Around the World
- Links to 150 farm homepages give you a feel for
life on the farm in 40 states and 18 countries around
- At this online agriculture superstore you can
check on the pricing of almost anything for farming
plus get information on the current issues.
and Ranch Business Center
- This site connects to link to commodity markets,
commodity charts, crop reports, fruit and vegetable
prices and reports, livestock reports, USDA NASS
graphics, news and weather -- from local, regional and
- Related Website:
- 2) Market Quotes http://www.farmerslivestock.com/market_quoutes.htm
- Farm Safety
& Health Information Clearinghouse at the
University of Minnesota
- This is a comprehensive source for farm safety and
- Other Farm Safety and Health Information
- 2) Montana / Idaho AgrAbility Project and Farm
Safety Program (Promoting Success in Agriculture for
People with Disabilities and Their Families) http://www.montana.edu/wwwplow/index.html#index2
- 3) National Children's Center for Rural and
Agricultural Health and Safety http://research.marshfieldclinic.org/children/
- 4) Safety and Health at the N.C. Dept. of
Agriculture and Consumer Services http://www.agr.state.nc.us/safety/
Farming: Agriculture Online
- Website of the largest paid-subscription farm
magazine in the U.S..
- United States
Department of Agriculture
- News and information about the USDA and
agriculture in general can be found at this huge site.
Includes a history of American agriculture from
1776-1990s. American agriculture is always being
counted, measured, priced, analyzed, and reported to
give people the facts they need. Section below
provides lots of farm statistics for kids:
- Voice of Agriculture:
American Farm Bureau
- Pick a topic on farming; look within 'Today's Ag'
section for lots of 'Farm Facts' and even a 'Farm
- Different Types of Farming
- Here you can find out about soybean industries,
plus many soybean facts and uses.
- This comprehensive site has information on the
issues, economics, and topics related to beef.
of Livestock from Oklahoma State
- This huge site has a wealth of information and
photographs of breeds of cattle, goats, horses, sheep,
swine, and other livestock.
- Related Website:
- 2) Livestock Library http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/LIBRARY/
of Poultry from Oklahoma State University
- Website for teaching and reference use; includes
chickens, geese, ducks, and turkeys.
- Related Website:
- 2) The Coop http://www.the-coop.org/index.html
from Iowa Farmer Today
- An Iowa Farmer Today web camera is trained on a
cornfield north of Prairieburg, in Northeast Iowa.
With its lens you can watch the progress of a field
through the growing season.
- Learn about milk and cows with Fun Facts. Then
take the MooMilk Quiz to test your cowledge. Visit a
dairy farm with more than 3,000 cows! (And there's
also serious talk about the dairy business.)
with Nature: The Rice Farming Techniques of Lindbergh
- Learn about the growing and processing techniques
have developed out of the Lindbergh family's
deep-rooted beliefs about the land and surrounding
- Hang out with 'Wacky Wheat' in Kansas wheat
country. Cruise a Kansas wheat farm, eyeball a
- skyscraper, chill out with 'Super Trivia', and
check out the latest in 'Flour Power' fun and
- Websites for Teachers
of Animals (Grades K-2)
- This integrated mini-unit is designed to use the
technology of the Internet to provide opportunities
for students to learn about farm animals.
& Gardening at Mathline, PBS
- This website includes three activities to
exemplify the use of mathematics by gardeners and
and Farm Animals (Grades 1-3)
- In this unit the primary focus is on farms, farm
animals, their families, animal body parts, and the
food products that we get from farms.
Farm to Fork With Idaho Jones (Grades K-3) from
Idaho Potato Commission
- Here are three lessons on where our food comes
from and how we get it.
- 1) Animal Babies on the Farm http://www.eduplace.com/ss/act/farm.html
- More Websites:
- 2) The Farm (Grade-K)
- 3) Farm Animals (Grade 1) http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/curry/class/Museums/Teacher_Guide/Science/Farm.Animals.ht
- 4) How Farm Animals help us. (Grade 1)
- 5) Springtime on the Farm.
- Created by
Johnson, 1/99. Updated