Contour plowing or
contour farming is the
farming practice of
plowing across a slope following its
contours. The rows formed have the effect of slowing water run-off during rainstorms so that the soil is not washed away and allows the water to percolate into the soil.
In contour plowing, the ruts made by the plow run perpendicular rather than parallel to slopes, generally resulting in furrows that curve around the land and are level.
The Phoenicians first developed the practice of contour farming and spread it throughout the Mediterranean. However, the Romans preferred cultivation in straight furrows and this practice became standard in Europe and Britain. When Europeans settled new land in the Americas and Australia, straight furrows were generally used although contour plowing was still used in locations such as the south of France.
This was one of many procedures promoted by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (the current Natural Resources Conservation Service) during the 1930s. The U.S. Department of Agriculture established the Soil Conservation Service in 1935 during the dust bowl when it became apparent that soil erosion was a huge problem.
