AP Human Geo - Unit 5 (Agriculture)

Agriculture

Raising animals or growing crops on tended land for consumption by the farmer's family or sale.

Agricultural practices influenced by…

• Physical environment

• Climate conditions

First Agricultural revolution

Started farming

• Created agricultural hearths

• Led to owning land

Second agricultural movement

Through mechanization began to be able to create and transport more crops - being able to transport crops

• Aligned with industrial revolution

Third agricultural revolution

Advancements in science - maximizing plant

• fertilizers - GMO’s

• Norman Borlaug made wheat stock stronger

Pros —> producing more food

Cons —> environmental issues

Domestication

Process of adapting plants and animals for human use

Subsistence Agriculture

Primary focus is to feed family or local community - not for sale

• found in developing countries

Commercial Agriculture

Form of agriculture to generate product for sale off of the farm

Vertical Integration of Agriculture (Vertical Agriculture)

A company maximizing profit by buying multiple steps in the value chain

Cereal grain

A grass yielding grain for food

Monoculture

Mass producing of one type of crop

• May change from season to season

• Can be susceptible to disease

Monocropping

Mass producing of one crop in the same place year after year

Food Sercurity

When people have access to enough food to stay healthy

Transhumance

Seasonal movement of livestock from one area to another

Pastoralism / pastoral nomadism

A practice where animals are herded across lands too dry to grow crops - for agriculture

• irregular movement

Plantation

Production of one or more usually cash crops in a area of land

Shifting Cultivation

is a form of extensive subsistence farming done in areas with low population density – especially in the tropics.

• People rotate fields in order to allow soil to replenish nutrients

• Not the same as crop rotation — when farmer rotates crop type

“Slash-and-burn” farming

Burning portion of the forest so the soil can be used for agriculture

Intensive Agriculture

Hard: involves a lot of manual labor/or financial commitment per amount of land

• Continuously produce crops → can take a toll on the land

Extensive Agriculture

Smaller amounts of labor/tech and science over a large amount of space

• Spending a little amount of money/work for a large amount of land

Double Cropping

Harvesting from the same field twice a year

Terrace farming

The practice of cutting flat areas out of a hilly or mountainous landscape in order to grow crops

Commodity chain

A linked system of processes that gather resources, convert them into goods, package them for distribution, disperse them, and sell them on the market.

• Value chain (increases value with every step)

• Production to retail

Export Commodity

Primary reason for growing is to gain money (cash crop)

Economies of Sale

As corporations buy smaller farms, they have enough capital to purchase equipment and produce more for a cheaper price

• More you buy the cheaper it is per product

Crop rotation

system developed during the Second Agricultural Revolution in order to preserve the mineral health of soil used in agriculture and prevents patches of land from being exhausted.

• Farmer rotates crop type

Aquaculture

Farming/cultivation of aquatic species (fish)

Agribusiness

Refers to entire process and entire value chain of all agricultural process 

• From seed to grocery store 

• Companies, transportation, etc.

• Increase large commercial farms (a lot more food) → independent small farms and decreasing (especially in developing countries)

3rd agricultural revolution

Horticulture

growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers

Von Thünen’s model

Focused on where certain types of agriculture would be best located because of land and transportation

• Ex: higher cost closer to the city (horticulture/forestry)

Desertification

the process by which previously fertile lands become arid and unusable for farming.

Soil Salinization

Increased salinity of land, once fertile land can no longer produce land → leads to more deforestation to create more land

When watering land the salt and minerals are in the water. The water evaporates but the minerals don’t, and have an increased concentration of salt being left.

Intertillage

Mixing different seeds together

Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)

When crop has been modified to keep some characteristics and leave negative ones (protect against pests)

Undernourishment

a dietary energy consumption continuously below minimum requirement for maintaining healthy life and carrying out light physical activity

Organic Farming

approach to farming and ranching that avoids the use of herbicieds, pesticides, growth hormones, and other similar synthetic inputs

Farm Subsidies

government is protecting price of something

• Government can pay amount so that farmers get a certain price for something they do

Ex: crop is really bad for a few years only $20 need $30, government paying extra $10

Township and Range

Created after American revolution

• Makes the land look like graph paper/grid system

• Common in Midwest

Clustered Settlement Pattern

Have a focused nuclear area in the middle

• Occur in areas where resources are focused in small areas

Dispersed Settlement Pattern

Spread out

• Found in areas that have a strong agricultural base

Linear Settlement Pattern

Has a pattern

• Develop in areas where the most important economic reasons for settlement exist in lines

Ex: River

Long lot

Divides land into narrow areas stretching from river, roads, or canals

Metes and Bounds

Uses natural feature to create areas of land

• Used in early colonies

Columbian Exchange

Massive trade between Europe and the Americas

• Relocation diffusion

• Greatly influenced parts of the world