Guest Speaker James Adkins

October 2nd, 2019 James talked to our class about irrigation. 20% of the worlds farmland is irrigated. While 40% of our food is irrigated. He discussed the different ways water is accessed and granted to the farmland. Fertile Irrigation is when fields are built into runs. The fields are typically flat, or slightly grated fields. The water runs through the run and provides to other parts of the farm. For this to be able to happen, the soil must be able to hold the water. Gated pipes are also used to give fertile water. They have holes on them, that give out water. You can determine what holes are giving out water. Pressurized irrigation was never a thing until after World War 2, because the war needed the pipes and equipment. While the war was happening, the pipes were also very expensive to receive. It was sitting idle after the war, so the agriculture community made something out of it. They latch together so you can assemble them and disassemble them. They work best for vegetable fields. The positive thing is that they will fit any field, the negative is the amount of labor it takes to move them. My class learned many things about water, rainfall, and irrigation. Fun fact is that 68% of the world’s irrigation comes from China and irrigation has increased 280% since 1950!

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