Why is it difficult to plant or engage in farming in mountainous places?

Question

Why is it difficult to plant or engage in farming in mountainous places?

Answer 1

Much of it will depend on the crop that is needed to be grown.  The higher altitudes are not as apt to maintain the required growing season with lower temperatures.  Depending on location the level of water may not be sufficient as well for the life of the plant to produce the desired amount of product.  Third and last point, what are the soil conditions.  Does it allow root growth to support the plant and are there sufficient nutrients available whether by hand or in the soil to feed the plant.  This would include N, P & K (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) along with the correct pH levels.

Answer 2

I'm a farmer, and I live in the mountains.  I'm in Idaho, at 4700 plus feet elevation.

Even though this is the mountains, we have vast very flat areas, which make farming less of a problem here.

Most people farming in mountainous areas are trying to grow crops on fairly vertical "feilds."  Because of this most of them practice terracing, to help retain moisture, and combat erosion.

In my particular neck of the woods, the winters are very long and brutal here.  Today the winds will be 35mph, with snow, starting in the afternoon.  Not a big deal for the crop farmers who are done with farming until Spring planting rolls back around.

However winter weather is a very big deal for someone like myself who is raising livestock.  Snow can build up so much, that fences become useless....livestock can just walk right out, over the snow, since it can totally cover the fence.

It makes it very hard to keep water defrosted for livestock too.  Many mountainous places have trouble with getting enough water for their agricultural needs.  My area has been going through a drought for the past 6, going on 7 years.

Because of this, the Government set up a program called "Set Aside."  If the farmer signs up, their land is "set aside" and not farmed, but more importantly not watered for 15 years.  The Government pays them $120 per, per year for this program.  It is NOT to try and reduce the amount of crops being grown, but rather to reduce the amount of water being used...they are trying to recharge the Snake River Auqufur.

Even though 100 thousand acres of land were put into this program we are still having major water problems.  This fall they sent out "water call" letters, to 1970.  That means any farmer that only has water rights that date back to 1970, to present is going to have their water shut off next year.  They will not be allowed to farm.  If your water rights are 1969 or earlier, you will still be allowed to use water and farm your land.  

This is very serrious, and a really big deal around here.  Agriculture is the main economy around here.  It also means that if farmers are not allowed to farm and use water, they cannot afford to plant a cover crop to protect their land.  Around here in the winter the ground freezes as hard as concrete, so no big deal.  In the spring and summer however it's really going to thaw out, and dry out.  This wind is going to pick up millions of tons of valuable topsoil and blow it away.  

Some mountian areas have the opposite problem, especially in tropical areas...too much rain (usually monsoons) that cause massive damage in the form of mudslides.  They can wash away entire fields, even villages.  

Every area of course has problems with it's own "special" set of insects.  Here, we have Mormon Crickets, which can cause millions of dollars in crop damage, as they march accross the land eating everything in site.  

Here, one of our problems is with lava rock.  Tractors pulling varrious impliments through the fields can really have those impliments damaged when they hit big hunks of lava rock.  

In steeper areas where the pracitice terrace farming, the individual terraces can be so small, as to make mechanized farming totally impracticle....so those areas will always be farmed by people doing it by hand, or perhaps with a water buffalo or two.

Lack of oxygen can be a problem.  The air up here is much thiner.  I moved to Idaho, from sea level in Washington state.  My first few months here, I was out spreading new grass seed in the fields....I was doing the work on food, with a hand brodcaster.  I didn't realize what a difference the elivation made.  I passed out, because of the lack of oxygen.  Fortunatly, my husband was there, as well as his mom, who is a R. N. (Registered Nurse).

People who are born in the mountainous areas do not notice the lack of oxygen since their lungs are quiet use to it.  People who move into the mountains can have problems though, until their lungs get use to it!

Well, those are just a few of the problems found in mountain farming.  Hope this helps you.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 3

Water not being able to stay in ground,soil erosion! I guessing.There are countries that do farm on hillsides.Maybe that's because of the plant like teas take better root.And harvesting would be more difficult.I'm guessing!

Maybe there is a way to tier of land off like cake layers that get bigger as they go down ,and drainage system that holds the water!

Answer 4

I'm from the philippines and guess how we planted our rice:

http://www.hillmanwonders.com/banaue/ban...