Where’s Iowa?

Agriculture in the ClassroomUnit 3

Is it an Acre, A Hector, a Section or Township?

Iowa is 36 million acres. What is an acre?

208.7’

208.

7’

43,560 Square Feet

1’ w

ide

43,560 Square feetGoes on for 8.25 miles

So if I had 80 acres roughly how many football fields would fit it that (80)

In 120 acres? (120)

In 320 acres? (320)

and in 640 acres? (640 football fields.)

The average size of an Iowa farm in 2010 was 331 acres. According to the Iowa Department

Of Land and Stewardship the average price of land in 2011 was $9,370 per acre. So how do you figure out what a 320 acre farm would sell for?

(take $9370 times 320)

A Section

In Iowa, one gravel road to next is usually l mile. So a section of land is 1 square mile. 1 mile North, 1 mile East, 1 mile South and 1 mile West is considered a square mile. You are traveling around 640 acres or what is called a section of land. So 640 acres, 1 square mile and a section of land all mean the same.

How many acres are in a ½ section of land?

(320 acres)

A Section

How did you get that ?

(divide 640 in ½)

If you farmed 3 sections, how many acres is that?

(1,920 acres)

How did you get that?

(you take 3 times 640)

A Township is 36 sections

Why do you need to know about townships?

a. location that dictates your tax value.

b. location that dictates where you will vote.

c. location for electing county and state government officials.

d. directions to a rural address (GPS now replaces this)

e. How can you find out what township you live in? (Platt book)

A Hector

In European countries they measure land in Hectors. You divide the number of acres

by 2.5 to get a hector. So a 120 acre farm is equal to 54 hectors. A 320 acre farm is 128 hectors.

How many hectors are in a section?

(divide 640 by 2.5 and you get 256 hectors.

Or if you remember that 320 acres is a half section or 128 hectors you could double that…

so a section is 256 hectors.)

“When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” Aldo Leopold-from A Sand Co. Almanac