Meeting The Need for Food and Fibre

1
Meeting The Need for Food and Fibre

• Canada is a major world producer of food and
  fibre
• We grow far more than we consume, so we export
  our surplus to other countries
• We are also world leaders in agricultural science
• Scientists are working towards a goal of
  sustainability growing food and fibre while
  keeping our natural systems healthy for the long
  term

2
Alberta

• Agriculture is a relatively new industry in
  Alberta
• It wasnt until the railroad brought settlers
  west in the late 1800s and early 1900s, that
  agriculture became widespread
• It took only about 30 years for settlers to
  plough under native grasslands that had been
  around for 1000s of years
• Of the 60 million hectares of land area in
  Alberta, over 20 million is now dedicated farmland

3
Alberta

• Alberta farmers produce crops worth almost three
  billion dollars
• The food industry is second only to oil and
  natural gas in terms of earnings
• Wheat, canola, barley, and oats are grown for
  their seeds and are sold mainly to other
  countries
• Other crops include legumes (field peas, faba
  beans, lentils), potatoes, alfalfa, field corn,
  sugar beets, sunflowers and spices

4
Farming

• Many crops are grown in greenhouses (cucumbers,
  tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, house plants, and cut
  flowers)
• In order to make money, farmers must produce
  large amounts of crops
• They do this by using large machinery,
  fertilizing the soil and also by irrigating, or
  watering their crops
• Most farmers grow their crops as a monoculture,
  only one type of crop per field

5
Changing Technology

• Changes in technology include
• Using cultivators to prepare and fertilize soil
• Special chemicals used to control fungi
• Air seeders and seed drills used to plant seeds
• Herbicides and pesticides sprayed on crops
• Swathers used to cut hay
• Combines used to harvest grain and separate seeds
• Other large machinery like trucks and ploughs

6
Fibre Plants and Forestry

• Trees cover 4.5 million square kilometres of land
  in Canada an area larger than western and
  eastern Europe combined
• Canada has about 10 of Earths forests
• Wood fibre industry employs over 800 000
  Canadians
• Forests have many different trees, plants,
  animals, etc (not ECT) known as diversity

7
Trees in Alberta

• Tree species in Alberta include
• Lodgepole Pine
• White Spruce
• Black Spruce
• Aspen
• White Birch
• Tamarack (Larch)
• - Other species in Canada include Red Oak,
  Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock,
  Maple, Trembling Aspen

8
Forest Products

• The forest can produce many things for humans
• These include
• Lumber
• Pulp and paper
• Veneer and plywood
• Sash, doors, shingles, other millwork
• Other paper products asphalt roofing, cartons,
  boxes, paper bags, etc (not ECT.)
• Prefabricated buildings, cabinets, boxes,
  particleboard, MDF, chipboard, etc (not ECT)

9
Harvesting Trees

• Steps involved in harvesting trees
• Planning the cut (based on a review of the site)
• Building a road to the area
• Felling and de-limbing the trees
• Dragging or skidding trees to a central area
• Hauling the logs to a saw mill or pulp mill
• Preparing the site for reforestation
  (scarification)
• Reforestation (reseeding and replanting) BEWARE
  of bears!!!!!

10
Global Problems

• One of the most serious problems worldwide is
  soil erosion (blown away by wind and water)
• North Africa used to once be extremely fertile
  frequent and long-lasting droughts have resulted
  in desertification
• Where vegetation has been removed in Brazil and
  West Africa, soils have become hard and useless
  for crops
• In some areas of Europe and USA, high levels of
  agricultural chemicals have caused pollution