Unit 5 (Agriculture)

Agriculture

The deliberate growing of crops and raising of livestock for food, fiber, fuel, or other products

Dietary energy consumption

The amount of food energy (calories) consumed by an individual, group, or population

Food security

When all people, at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious foods for their daily lives.

Subsistence farming

A type of farming where the primary goal is to produce enough food for the farmer and their family

Intensive vs extensive Agriculture

Intensive: Uses high labor and capital inputs per unit of land
Extensive: Low labor and capital inputs per unit of land but requires lots of land

Commercial Agriculture/Agribusiness

Large-scale production of crops and livestock primarily for sale or profit, using advanced machinery, technology, and capital

Supply Chain

The network of processes involved in producing, processing, transporting, and selling a product from raw materials to the final consumer.

Shifting cultivation

A form of subsistence agriculture in which farmers clear land, farm it for a few years, and then leave it fallow while moving to a new plot.

Slash-and-burn Agriculture

A type of subsistence farming where farmers cut down (slash) and burn vegetation in a plot to clear for cultivation.

Swidden

A farming method where land is cleared by cutting and burning vegetation to grow crops temporarily.

Pastoral Namadism

A type of subsistence agriculture in which people raise livestock and more regularly with their herds to find fresh pastures.

Transhumance

Seasonal livestock migration where herders move animals between highland and lowland pastures dependent on the season.

Wet Rice

Rice planted in flooded fields called paddies which provides water for growth and weed control

Sawah/Paddy

A flooded field to grow rice

Monocropping vs intercropping

Monocropping: Growing 1 type of crop on the same land
Intercropping: growing 2+ types of crops on the same land.

Crop Rotation

The practice of growing different crops in the same field in sequential seasons to maintain soil fertilityq

Van Thunen Model

A model that explains how famous organize crops and livestock around a central market on transportation costs and land value

Green Revolution

A period (1940s-1960s) when high-yield crop varieties, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and mechanization more introduced to increase food production worldwide.

Value Added (and agriculture)

The increase in a product’s economic value changing it’s physical states, location, or marketing.

Economy of scale (and agriculture)

When the cost per unit decreases as the size/output of an operation increases

Fallow

Agricultural land that is intentionally left unplanted for a period of time to restore soil fertility.

Plantation

A large-scale agricultural operation that specializes in the production of 1 or 2 cashcrops, growth for export.

Grain/Cereal Grain

Grass cultivated for its edible seeds, which are used as major source of food for humans and livestock

Milkshed

Geographic area surrounding a city from which fresh milk is supplied.

Horticulture

Cultivation of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants, often small scale with intensive labor.

Truck farming

Commercial cultivation of fruits and vegetables grown primarily for sale in nearby urban markets

Sustainable Agriculture

Farming practiced in a way that meets current food needs while preserving environmental quality and maintained resources for future generations

Ridge Tillage

An agricultural method in which crops are planted on raised cows ridges and soil between ridges is minimally distributed. Prevents soil erosion, and is a sustainable method.

Ester Boserup; changes in subsistence farming

Population growth drives agricultural innovation. Subsistence farmers intensify their methods to produce enough food.

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert-like due to human activity

AquaCulture

Controlled cultivation of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, and seaweed for food/agribusiness

GMO

A plant, animal, or microorganisms whose genetic material has been altered.

“Miracle” seeds

High-yield, genetically improved seeds developed during the green revolution (3rd)

Food desert

An area with low-income urban communities where residents have limited access to food.

Ethanol

Alcohol-based biofuel made primarily from fermenting plant materials such as corn, sugarcane, etc.