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Chapter 10: Agriculture
Key Issue I: Where did agriculture originate?
Origins of AgricultureAgriculture – deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals for sustenance or economic gainCrop – any plant cultivated by people
Hunters and Gatherersquarter million people today or .005 of populationlive in isolated locations, i.e. African Bushmen and Aborigineslive in periphery of world settlement
Origins of Agriculture cont…
Invention of Agricultureaccidentally/ trial and error
animals for religious ceremonies
Two Types of Cultivationvegetative planting – direct cloning
Seed agriculture – annual planting (practiced by most farmers today)
B. Location of Agricultural HearthsLocation of First Vegetative Plantingstarted in southeast Asia and diffused to China and Japan, westward to India, tropical Africa, and the Mediterranean
Dog, pig, and chicken probably first domesticated in Southeast Asiaother vegetative hearths are in West Africa and South America
Location of First Seed Agriculturewestern India, northern China, and EthiopiaIndia to southwest Asia
• first to integrate seed and animal domestication
Locations of First Seed Agr. Cont…
C. Diffusion of Seed Agriculture
see image
C. Classifying Agricultural HearthsFundamental differences exist b/t MDCs and LDCs
LDCs are generally subsistenceMDCs practice commercial agr.
Five Features distinguish commercial from subsistence farming.Purpose of Farming
• LDCS produce food for individual use• MDCS grow crops and raise animals for sale to food processing companies
Percentage of Farmers in the Labor Force• LDCS – more than half in labor force• MDCS – less than 1/10 in labor force• US and Canada only 2% of labor force – still produces a surplus of
food• Dramatic decline of MDC farmers in 20th century
US 6 million in 1940 now 2 million push and pull factors responsible for decline
Five Features of Farming cont…Use of Machinery
• All iron plow 1770s
• 19th – 20th centuries: tractors, combines, corn pickers, and planters.
• Transportation Improvements railroads, high-ways, trucks, and refrigeration Scientific advances – fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, hybrids,
animal breeds, etc. Electronics – GPS
Farm Size
Five Features of Farming Cont…Farm Size
444 acres in US commercial farms98% of US commercial farms are family ownedUS 29,000 largest farms avg. more than 3,000 acres and produce revenues of $3 million or $1,000/acre
• 1.4% of US farms and 48% of agr. Sales• 50% of US farms less than $5,000 per years and $50/acre
US has 60% fewer farms and 85% fewer farmers in 2000 than in 1900US has been losing prime agricultural land to urban sprawl
Five Features of Farming Cont…
Relationship to Other BusinessesAgribusiness
• Commercial farming utilizes modern communications and tech. to keep track of prices, yields, and expenditures
• Farmers are 2% of labor force
• 20% of US labor works in food related businesses
Mapping Agricultural RegionsWhittlesey’s 11 agr. Regions (climate regions)
Subsistence Agriculture (LDCs)• Shifting cultivation• Intensive subsistence, wet rice dominant• Intensive subsistence, wet rice not dominant• Pastoral nomadism
Commercial Agriculture (MDCs)• Mixed crop and livestock• Dairy• Grain• Livestock ranching• Meditteranean• Commercial Gardening
Plantation and no agricultureCultural Practices (alcohol avoidance)
Where Are Agricultural Regions in Less Developed Countries?
Shifting CultivationPracticed in Humid Low-Latitude, high temperatures and abundant rainfall
• Amazon, Central/West Africa, and Southeast Asia
Two Hallmarks• Slash and burn agr. (swidden)
• Plant and fallow system
Crops
Food Supplies Over the Last 200 Years
A. Malthus’ prediction – (pop. & food supply)- he was wrong – technological innovations, new farm land, and crop transplants
B. Reasons for Increased Supplies1. Added croplands, transplant of crops to new areas (i.e. corn and
maize)
2. New cropland - new lands opened by irrigation
3. Transportation and storage - faster and larger refrigeration methods, protects against spoilage and pests
4. Green revolution - as applied to agriculture not environment (better varieties, higher yields)
C. Technological advances – fertilizers, pesticides & machines
The World of Agriculture pg. 323
Current Production of Potatoes and Rice pg. 324
II. Agriculture Today (re-write)A. Success dependent on GeographyB. Hunter-gatherers – still exist in small groupsC. Subsistence agriculture - Food for self and family, large
amount of labor, minimal technology1. Polyculture gives way to monoculture crops
D. Commercial agriculture - food for sale (food co.)1. Little labor, much capital investment in technology, Polyculture
Raising a variety of crops
MonocultureSpecializing in one type
Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture
Subsistence TraitsRelies mostly on human labor – little animal or machine power
Low technology use
Smaller average farm size
Most food is consumed by farmer
Commercial TraitsRelies on capital investment in machinery, chemicals, improved seedsLarge average farm sizeProducts sold to agribusiness companiesFewer family owned farms
Subsistence vs. Commercial Agr.
Types of Agriculture
A. Defined by five variables1. Natural environment
2. Crops that are most productive in that environment
3. Degree of technology used
4. Market orientation
5. . Raised for human or animal consumption
10 Categories of Agriculture
Irrigated
Nomadic herding
Low tech subsistence
Intensive rice
Asian mixed cereals/pulses
Mixed farming with livestock
Prairie cereals
Ranching
Mediterranean grains fruits and vegetables
Plantation agriculture
Types of Agriculture Cont…
IrrigatedIncludes many farming styles from subsistence to intensive production
Nomadic herdingPastoral nomads
Depend on animals
Animals sold or consumed
12-15 million nomads today
Government settlement
Types of Agriculture Cont…
Low-tech subsistenceSlash-and-burn
Swidden = “to singe”
Amazon, Central and West Africa
Supports low levels of population
Intensive rice farmingEast, South and Southeast Asia
Work done by hand
Wet rice important source of food
Sawah
Double cropping
Types of Agriculture Cont…
Asian mixed cereal and pulse farming
Interior India and northeast China
Wheat and barley
Pulses = pea or legume family
Mixed farming with livestock
Usually commercial
Crops fed to livestock
Dominant in most of world
Mixed farming in the “corn belt”
Production of Oats, Barley, and Rye pg. 329
World Maize Production pg. 325
Types of Agriculture Cont…
Prairie cerealsLarge scale commercial grain production
Wheat
Areas of concentration in North America
• Winter wheat belt
• Spring wheat belt
• Palouse region
RanchingCommercial grazing
Arid or semiarid land
Cattle – North and South America
Sheep – Australia
World Wheat Production pg. 330
Agricultural Productivity pg. 332
Types of Agriculture Cont…
MediterraneanMediterranean climates
Hot dry summers, cool rainy winters
Most crops for human consumption
Olives, grapes, fruits and vegetables
PlantationLarge commercial farm
Latin America, Asia, Africa
Coffee, sugarcane, bananas, rubber
Determining Productivity
Capital investmentTechnology EquipmentFertilizers/pesticidesIrrigation
Natural environmentTechnology and capital investment lessens the importance
Livestock
Grain consumptionDirect and indirect
Per capita consumption of meat
Problems with animal productionEnvironmental
Dairy farmingValue added by manufacturing
Future Food SuppliesNew crop potential
Preserving genetic diversityCultural acceptance
Scientific revolutionGene splicingGenetically modified (GM)Cloning
Resistance to biotechnologyReligious / cultural / environmental
Global warming
Distribution of Supplies and Production
Poor distributionHunger/famine
Political strife
Countries import and export food
Increase in production
Improvement in distribution
Problems Increasing Food Production
Diminishing returns of fertilizersFinancial incentives
Pricing controlsTaxes
Land ownershipConcentration of ownership Collective farming/ Communism
Commercial cash crops in developing countriesLeading to economic self sufficiency?Illegal drugs
Policies of Wealthy Countries
High tariffs to protect markets
Farm subsidiesEncourage surpluses in rich areas
Decrease production in poor areas
Impact on world market
Subsidies: Reasons & Results
ReasonsProtects farmers
National security
Tradition
Political
ResultsLow price
Restricts competition
Effect on trade and production
Fish HarvestTraditional fishing
Physical and financial risksSmall fraction of global catch
Modern fishingFisheriesOverfishing and depletionIncreasing regulation
AquacultureHerding and domesticating aquatic speciesFertilizer production
End of Chapter 8