Abstract: According to the problems of grassland use in northern area, its deep cultural root that is the traditional Chinese concept of “Farming as the Essential” was brought forward. The culture affects land degradation not only through impacting the manner and behavior of land use directly but also through influencing the social economy and natural status indirectly. This paper points out that the concept of “Farming as the Essential” as the core of land cultivation culture has greatly affected land use during a long period in northern China prairie. This concept has resulted in serious environmental and ecological problems through affecting the policies of national land use, the idea of people and the land use action.