Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land Use Problems

agriculture

the practice of planting and harvesting domesticated plants and raising livestock for food

domesticated

any plants or animals raised by humans

commericial farming

food grown to sell and be eaten by others, large farms, focused on monocropping/single commodity dependency

subsistence farming

food grown and eaten by the farmer/family, small farms and growing a variety of crops to create a balanced diet

intensive agriculture

farmers use high amounts of inputs to grow as much food as possible

extensive agriculture

farmers use less inputs and rely on natural soil fertility and climate conditions

factors for agriculture

nutritional soil, topography, weather patterns

tropical weather pattern

hot/humid, lots of rain

cold/mid latitude weather patterns

mild summer/cold winter, moderate rainfall

warm/mid latitude weather patterns

warm summer/mild winter

what area is warm/mid latitude?

Mediterranean with sunny and mild winter

polar weather patterns

cold, dry, arid, snowy

rural

areas outside of a major city/countryside

clustered/nucleated settlement

homes located near each other and create a central village that provides shared services

dispersed settlement

homes are distant from each other, allows people to spread out because of safety/water

linear settlement

people arrange themselves in a line, along a road/river, gives people access to water/transportation

survey methods

how property lines are legally established (3 types)

metes and bounds

property lines are drawn according to natural features

township and range

land is divided into squares

long lot

divides land into long rectangles with one side facing vital resources

hunters and gatherers

small nomadic groups who travel together in search of food (learned how to domesticate animals/plants)

first agricultural revolution/neolithic

transition from nomadic hunting/gathering societies to sedimentary agricultural societies, 10,000 BC

four hearths of agriculture (developed agriculture independently)

fertile crescent in mesopotamia, central america, indus river valley in india, south east asia

colombian exchange

exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and people between americas, africa, and europe

second agricultural revolution

change from traditional farming to more productive methods through new technology and techniques, 1600s-1800s

how did technology effect farming during the second agricultual revolution?

farming was more efficient and less farmers were needed, they moved to the cities for jobs

what did new transportation technology allow for during the second AR?

shipped goods more efficiently and allowed people to access those goods more

effects of the 2AR

better diets, long life expectancy, high birth/low death rates, demographic shift with more people moving to cities

iron steel plow (2nd)

reduced human labor, increased strength to break through harder soils, increased growth and size of farms

mechanical seed drilling (2nd)

planted and covered each seed quickly, resulted in increased yield per acre

mccormick reaper harvester (2nd)

increased harvest, reduced human labor, reduced crop death

grain elevator (2nd)

increased storage space and food supply, protected food

green revolution/third agricultural revolution

movement where scientists developed new strains of crops, 1960s-70s

cross breeding

mixing of different plants or animals to produce a hybrid version with the best genetic characteristics of both, was to increase food production

where did the science for the green revolution come from? did it diffuse?

from the US and diffused to poorer countries with large populations

synthetic fertilizer (GR)

required for high amounts of crops

chemical pesticides (GR)

new crossbred crops were more vulnerable to destruction

increased mechanicalism (GR)

machinery such as tractors, trillers, and grain carts to increase efficiency

positive effects of the green revolution

more food grown, lower food prices, and more efficient land use

negative effects of the green revolution

environmental issues with more chemicals that pollute freshwater, soil erosion, women are excluded, smaller businesses go out of business due to large corporations

double cropping

planting more than one crop in the same soil, leads to soil erosion that makes it useless

bid rent theory

economic theory that explains how the price of land changes as you move away from a city’s central business district, value of land determines how a farmer will use it

how will a farmer use cheaper land?

buy more of it and use more extensive farming practices

how will a farmer use more expensive land?

buy less of it and use more intensive farming practices, more likely to produce highly perishable foods since its closer to CBD

monocropping

growing of a single crop on the same land every year (to sell)

intercropping

growing 2+ crops on a piece of land at the same time

monoculture

growing of a single crop on a piece of land but the crop grown changes every year

how are family farms effected by agribusiness?

they shut down because farming becomes too expensive

agribusiness

massive farming corporations that focus on monocropping to keep profits high and costs low, allows for mass production and lower prices

commodity chains

series that brings commodities to the market

commoditity

any good that can be sold

what is the commodity chain series?

producer, processor, distributor, retailer, and consumer

producer (1 of CC)

crop is farmed

processor (2 of CC)

crop is peeled, sliced, etc

distributor (3 of CC)

frozen food is driven to a retailer

retailer (4 of CC)

place where the food is made into the end product and sold

consumer (5 of CC)

people who buy and eat the food

how does the complexity of the CC effect spatial distribution and do corporations own the steps of the chain?

effects where farms are located and how big they are, McDonalds for example owns the first four steps of their CC

what effects does corporations owning the steps of the CC bring?

saves costs and owns more profit for the corporations and it is harder for small businesses to compete

economies of scale

the more a commodity is produced, the cheaper they are to make and greater profit

how is carrying capacity increased?

large farms have implemented new technologies, more food is produced

von thunen model

theory explaining how people use the land around them and how the distance of a market determines the kind of agriculture practiced in a given location

order of von thunen model

CBD, intensive farming/dairy, forest and timber, grains/cereal, and ranching/livestock

intensive farming/dairy of VTM

fruits, veggies, dairy perish quickly and need to be transported to the market fast

forest and timber of VTM

wood is heavy so being close to the CBD keeps transportation costs low

grains/cereal of VTM

not heavy or highly perishable, can afford to transport these crops father distances

ranching/livestock of VTM

requires a lot of land for animal grazing, ranchers want cheaper land away from the CBD

limitations of the Von Thunen Model

makes assumptions that are not true everywhere (only one CBD, isotropic land, no modern transportation, etc)

global supply chain

global economic interconnectedness of most countries, certain countries specialize in one crop so they need to trade/sell to others

commodity dependency

when a countrys economy is largely dependent on the export of cash crops, some countries have been growing the same crop for centuries so it is hard to change

food subsides

government pays farmers to grow certain crops, poorer countries without this struggle to compete

trade wars

countries refusing to buy goods from certain countries for political reasons

what do countries need in order to participate in the global supply chain?

infrastructure (working roads, bridges, etc) which makes it hard for poorer countries

fair trade movement

farmers in poor countries make very little money so movement to improve wages

agricultural practices that alter land

slash and burn, terrance farming, irrigation, and pastorial nomadism, these displace animals

slash and burn

burning forests to make room for farmland (type of shifting cultivation)

shifting cultivation

land is used until all soil nutrients are used up, then new land is cleared

terrance farming

cutting into hills/mountains to flatten them

irrigation

bringing water to crops that don’t have a natural water source

pastorial nomadism

subsistence farmers migrate with their herd of animals, leads to overgrazing

environmental effects of agriculture

runoff, desertification, soil salinization

runoff

pesticides contaminate water

desertification

land is over farmed and becomes desert like

soil salinization

salt accumulates in soil preventing cropd from growing in hot/dry areas

social effects of agricultural practices

changing diets and changing the economic makeup of farming (small farms go out of business bc of corporations)

elevation in womens right is often linked to…

increased agricultural activity and food production

what role do women play in subsistence farming?

responsible for growing plant based food, lack legal rights to own land

what role do women play in commercial farming

less common for women workers since their labor was not needed due to machines, leading to the idea that women should stay home

sustainability debate

how to feed 8 billion people while preserving land

genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

crops that have their DNA altered in a lab to make them more resistent to disease/drought, critics argue that they use more chemicals and harm the enviorment

aquaculture

fish farming, argued that it pollutes water

urban farming

growing of food in major cities on rooftops

community supported agriculture

consumers agree to pay farmers for a share of the crops grown (farmers markets)

organic farming

using only natural reasources/no chemicals (expensive)

value added speciality crops

agricultural products turns into another

local food movements

consumers buy food from their local communities, fresher food and doesn’t use fossil fuels bc no shipping

food insecurity

long periods of unbalanced diets

food deserts

lack access to nutritious food

distribution systems

lacking good infrastructure to have nutritious food delivered to a community, make 25% of food spoil due to lack of proper storage/refrigeration

suburbanization

people moving out of major cities, less farmland available