Agricultural Practices and Economic Forces

info cards - not vocab

Subsistence Farming

• Where: Less developed regions, small villages.

• Purpose: Meet basic survival needs

• Features: Minimal Green Revolution impact, high community reliance.

Commercial Agriculture

• Where: More developed regions.

• Features: Large fields, machinery, supply and demand economics.

• Big Idea: Focused on profit over survival

Agribusinesses

• What: Vertical integration (monopolies) of agriculture.

• Big Idea: Includes all steps of agriculture under the ownership of one entity

Bid-Rent Theory

• Key Idea: Land value and use depends on proximity to market.

• Proximity to CBD:

  • Intensive: Close; for perishable crops and high-value land.

  • Extensive: Far; for non-perishable crops needing lots of space.

Large-Scale Commercial Agriculture

• Big Ideas: Is efficient due to scale, advanced tech, and capital

• Features: Monocropping, seasonal labor, large machines.

• Owned by: Families, corporations, cooperatives.

Family Farms

• What: Small farms run by families.

• Economic Pressures

  • Pressured to consolidate with agribusinesses to make money (join the competition)

  • Economic forces favor large scale operations

Commodity Chains

• What: Steps connecting a commodity from producer to consumer.

• Example: Producer → Processor → Distributor → Retailer → Consumer.

• Big Idea: Commodity chains streamline production and distribution for profit

Economies of Scale

• Definition: Larger farms = Lower production costs = Higher profits.

• Advancements: Mechanization, chemicals, cool chains.

• Impact: Increased agricultural carrying capacity.

• Big Idea: Efficiency improves with scale, driving down per-unit costs

Agribusiness Monopolies

• Control: Vertical integration of food production.

• Impact: Displaces small-scale farmers, replaces subsistence farming.

• Big Idea: Large-scale agribusiness dominates modern agriculture

Technological Inputs

• For Crops: Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides → Higher yields.

• For Livestock: Feeds, hormones, vaccines → Faster growth.

• Cool Chains: Keeps food fresh during transport → Supports global markets.

• Big Idea: Advancements in agricultural tech (such as GMOs) drives productivity and global food dsitribution