AP Human Vocab - Unit 5 part 1

Agribusiness

Large-scale, commercial farming that includes the production, processing, packaging, distribution, and marketing of agricultural products, often run by corporations rather than individual farmers. It focuses on efficiency, profit, technology, and mass production, common in developed countries like the United States.

Agriculture

The practice of cultivating plants and raising animals to produce food, fiber, and other products used by humans. It is a key factor in settlement patterns, economic activity, and cultural development around the world.

Commercial Agriculture

Farming in which crops and livestock are produced primarily for sale and profit, rather than for personal use; it is typically large-scale, highly mechanized, and most common in developed countries.

Crop

A plant grown and harvested for food, fiber, or other economic use, usually cultivated on a large scale as part of agricultural production.

Crop Rotation

The practice of growing different crops on the same field in different seasons or years to maintain soil fertility, reduce pests and diseases, and prevent soil exhaustion.

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert-like, often caused by overfarming, deforestation, overgrazing, drought, or climate change, leading to soil degradation and reduced agricultural productivity.

Double Cropping

The practice of growing two crops on the same field in one year, commonly used in warm climates to increase food production and land efficiency.

Extensive Agriculture

A farming system that uses large amounts of land with relatively low inputs of labor and capital per unit of land, resulting in lower yields, and commonly practiced in sparsely populated areas such as ranching regions.

Extensive Commercial Agriculture

A form of commercial farming that uses large areas of land with low labor and capital input per acre, producing crops or livestock mainly for sale, with lower yields per acre, and common in sparsely populated regions such as commercial ranching and grain farming.

Extensive Subsistence Agriculture

A type of farming in which farmers use large areas of land with low inputs of labor and technology to grow food mainly for their own consumption, typically practiced in rural, sparsely populated regions with low crop yields.

Grain Farming

A type of commercial agriculture that focuses on the large-scale production of grains such as wheat, corn, and barley, using mechanization and technology, and commonly found in mid-latitude regions like the United States and Canada.

Green Revolution

A period of agricultural innovation beginning in the mid-20th century that introduced high-yield crop varieties, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation, greatly increasing food production, especially in developing countries.

Horticulture

A type of agriculture that focuses on growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, and plants, often on a small scale and usually for local use or sale.

Intensive Agriculture

A farming method that uses large amounts of labor, fertilizers, pesticides, water, and technology to produce high crop yields on a small amount of land.

Intensive Commercial Agriculture

A type of farming that uses high levels of labor, capital, machinery, fertilizers, and technology to produce crops or livestock mainly for sale and profit, usually on relatively small areas of land.

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

A farming system in which farmers work very small plots of land using lots of labor to grow food mainly for their own families, not for sale.

Milkshed

The geographic area around a city from which milk and dairy products are supplied, usually located close to the city because milk is perishable.

Mediterranean Agriculture

A farming system practiced in regions with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, specializing in crops like olives, grapes, wheat, and fruits, often using irrigation.

Market Gardening

A type of commercial agriculture that grows fruits, vegetables, and flowers on small farms, mainly to sell to nearby cities and markets.

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

A farming system in which farmers grow crops and raise animals on the same farm, with crops often used to feed the livestock and animal manure used to fertilize the fields.

Pastoral Nomadism

A type of subsistence farming in which people move from place to place with their livestock (such as cattle, sheep, goats, or camels) in search of water and grazing land.

Plantation

A type of commercial farming found mainly in tropical and subtropical regions, where large farms grow one main crop (such as coffee, sugarcane, tea, or rubber) for export.

Prime Agricultural land

Land that is best suited for farming because it has fertile soil, flat terrain, good drainage, and a favorable climate, allowing crops to grow easily and produce high yields.

Ranching

A type of commercial agriculture that involves raising livestock (such as cattle or sheep) on large areas of land, often in dry or grassland regions.

Reaper

A farm machine used to cut grain crops (like wheat) quickly and efficiently, helping farmers harvest crops faster than by hand.

Ridge Tillage

A farming method where crops are planted on raised ridges of soil, which helps reduce erosion, improve water drainage, and keep soil healthy.

Seed Agriculture

A type of farming focused on producing seeds (rather than food) that will be sold to other farmers for planting future crops.

Shifting Cultivation

A type of subsistence farming where farmers clear land (often by slash-and-burn), grow crops for a few years, then leave the land fallow and move to a new area so the soil can recover.

Slash-Burn Agriculture

A farming method where farmers cut down vegetation and burn it to clear land for planting; the ashes add nutrients to the soil, but the land is usually used only for a few years before farmers move to a new area.

Subsistence Agriculture

A type of farming in which farmers grow food mainly to feed their own families, with little or no surplus for sale.

Sustainable Agriculture

A farming system that meets today’s food needs while protecting the environment, conserving soil and water, and ensuring farming can continue for future generations.

Threshed

The process of separating grain from the stalks and husks after harvesting crops like wheat or rice.

Transhumance

The seasonal movement of livestock between lowlands and highlands to find fresh pasture, usually practiced by pastoral farmers.

Transnational Corporations

Large companies that operate in more than one country, controlling production, marketing, and distribution across international borders.

Truck Farming

A type of commercial agriculture that grows fruits and vegetables to be sold in distant markets, with crops transported by trucks or other transportation.

Vegetative Planting

A farming method where new plants are grown from parts of existing plants (such as roots, stems, or cuttings) instead of from seeds.

Wet Rice

A type of intensive subsistence farming where rice is grown in flooded fields (paddies), common in Asia, and requiring a lot of labor and water.

Winter Wheat

A type of wheat planted in the fall, remains dormant during winter, and is harvested in early summer.

Spring Wheat

A type of wheat planted in the spring and harvested in late summer, grown in regions where winters are too cold for winter wheat.

Value-added Crops

Crops that are processed or enhanced in some way (such as cleaning, packaging, milling, or turning into food products) so they can be sold for a higher price than raw crops.

Value-added Farming

A farming approach where raw agricultural products are processed, packaged, or transformed (for example, turning milk into cheese or wheat into flour) to increase their value and profit.

Vertical Farms

A modern farming method where crops are grown in stacked layers, often indoors, using controlled environments, hydroponics, and artificial lighting to save space and water.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy where a company controls multiple stages of production, processing, and distribution of a product, from raw materials to final sales.

Von Thunen Model

A geographic model that explains how different types of farming are arranged in rings around a city based on transportation costs and land value, with perishable and intensive farming closest to the market and less intensive farming farther away.