Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns + Processes

Flashcards on Agriculture and Rural Land-Use for exam review.

Commercial Agriculture

Farming with the goal of making money; Large-scale; Intended for widespread distribution of crops; Common crops include wheat, maize, tea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew, rubber, banana, cotton

Subsistence Agriculture

Farming with the goal of feeding yourself/your family/your community; Small-scale; Crops are grown for livelihood and survival, not profit; Offers little or no surplus

Extensive Agriculture

Fewer inputs of capital + paid labor relative to the space being used; a lot of land compared to the invested capital and labor (Ex: Shifting Cultivation, Nomadic Herding, Ranching)

Intensive Agriculture

Greater inputs of capital + paid labor relative to the space being used; a lot of capital and labor compared to the amount of land (Ex: Rice Farming, Market Gardening, Plantation Farming)

Pastoral Nomadism

Climate: Drylands, Arid, Semiarid; Locations: SW, C, + E Asia, N Africa; Extensive; Nomads take care of animals that are necessary for their survival; Animals are raised for meat, milk, and hides; Herds are moved to different pastures for constant food sources

Shifting Cultivation

Climate: Tropical; Locations: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, SE Asia; Extensive; Land is cleared and crops are planted and harvested repeatedly until soil is depleted of nutrients; Farmers move to new area and clear the land; NOT the same as crop rotation

Plantation

Climate: Tropical, Subtropical; Locations: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, S+SE Asia; Intensive; Large, commercial farm that specializes in one crop; Developed out of colonialism; Often exploits cheap labor in nearby populations

Mixed Crop/Livestock

Climate: Cold + Warm Mid-Latitude; Locations: Midwestern US + Canada, Central Europe; Extensive+Intensive; Integrated system found in develop regions; Majority of crops feed livestock, livestock used for meat or milk, animal manure used to fertilize crops; Most common grains: corn + soybeans

Grain

Climate: Cold Mid-Latitude; Locations: N Central US, S Central Canada, Eastern Europe; Extensive; Mostly consumed by people; Two distinct types include spring and winter wheat

Commercial Gardening

Climate: Warm Mid-Latitude; Locations: SE US, SE Australia; Intensive; AKA: Truck Farming; Traditionally located within driving distance from market; Today > most products are sold to companies for canning + freezing

Dairy

Climate: Cold + Warm Mid-Latitude; Locations: NE US, SE Canada, NW Europe; Intensive; Traditionally, dairy farms were local, but today, refrigeration expanded the milk shed; Dairy farms now often owned by corporations instead of families

Mediterranean

Climate: Warm Mid-Latitude; Locations: S Coast of Europe, N Coast of Africa, Pacific Coast of US, S tip of Africa, Chile; Extensive + Intensive; Crops include figs, dates, olives, grapes, cheese, wine, lamb, some wheat; Transhumance (seasonal herding of animals from higher elevations in the summer to lower elevations in winter)

Livestock Ranching

Climate: Drylands, Arid, Semi-Arid; Locations: W North America, SE South America, C Asia, S Africa; Extensive; Commercial grazing of animals that are confined to a specific area; Found in areas too dry for growing large quantities of crops

Intensive Subsistence

Climate: Warm Mid-Latitude; Locations: S, SE, + E Asia; Intensive; Farming for the purpose of feeding yourself/your family; Lack of technology = need for more intensive labor; Wet rice most common

Clustered Settlements

People live near each other - walking distance to fields, school, church which gives a strong sense of community; European villages/hamlets

Dispersed Settlements

Agricultural villages are rare because farms were so spread out with many farm properties over 100 acres; North American farms

Linear Settlements

In a “line” along rivers or bodies of water; Correlates with the French Long-Lot System; French settlements

Metes + Bounds

Used to describe plot boundaries (Metes - short distances); English colonists in America also used this system until 1785

Township + Range

Public Land Survey System of 1785; Used to standardize organization of landscape; Townships = 6 mi. X 6 mi., Sections = 640 acres (each square mile); First seen in the US in the Midwest

Long-Lot System

Farms were long thin sections of land, perpendicular to river allowing many farmers to have riverfront property for water transport of goods; France + French settlements in North America

First Agricultural Revolution (Neolithic Revolution)

~10,000 BCE; Domestication of plants + animals; Subsistence farming; Simple tools + manual labor

Second Agricultural Revolution

Began in the 1700s; Grew out of advances of the Industrial Revolution; Growing population = need for higher crop yields

Third Agricultural Revolution (Green Revolution)

Began in the 1960s; Agribusiness model emerges; Technology includes GMOs, seed hybridization, pesticides + herbicides

Animal Domestication

Raising and caring for animals by humans for protection of food; Probably began with hunting dogs; Later, goats and sheep

Plant Domestication

Began after animal domestication; 1st domesticated plants were vegetative - parts of stems or roots of existing plants; Next - domestication of seeds

Columbian Exchange

The global movement of plants, animals, + diseases between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas, Began with European arrival in the Americas

Subsistence Agriculture

Farming to feed yourself/your family

Commercial Agriculture

Farming for profit

Monocropping/Monoculture

The farming of a single cash crop on large plots of land; Large-scale commercial farms are replacing small-scale commercial and subsistence farms

Extensive Agriculture

Fewer inputs of capital + paid labor compared to the land area being used; If land is plentiful and costs little, the land is used extensively; (Ex: shifting cultivation, nomadic herding, livestock ranching)

Intensive Agriculture

Greater inputs of capital + paid labor compared to the land area being used; If land is scarce or expensive, the land is used intensively; (Ex: market gardening, intensive subsistence agriculture)

Suitcase farm

A farm in which the labor is performed by farmers who live nearby the farm rather than ON the farm. Farmers commute to the farm.

Agribusiness

A set of economic and political relationships that organizes food production of seed to the marketing of the finished product.

Consolidation

Taking a bunch of smaller things and making them into one, larger thing.

Economies of scale

Greater production results in saving in costs.

Supply/Commodity Chains

A system of resources, producer transportation, communication, information, and consumers involved in different steps in developing a product.

Vertical Integration

When a company owns several smaller businesses involved in different steps in developing a product.

Von Thunen’s Model

Illustrates a pattern of locations of agricultural practices in relation to the closest market.

Horticulture (Von Thunen Model Zone 1)

Market gardening/truck farming that contains perishable items that need to get to market fast like fruits and veggies

Forests (Von Thunen Model Zone 2)

Was the primary source of fuel and construction in 1826 and is heavy & difficult to transport

Crops like wheat & corn (Von Thunen Model Zone 3)

Crops that are valuable and did not perish as quickly as veggies & milk and not as hard to transport as wood

Grazing livestock (Von Thunen Model Zone 4)

Agricultural practice where the product could walk when it was time to transport them in addition to falling under the classification of extensive agriculture.

Interdependence

The dependence of two or more things (countries) on EACH OTHER. Regional interdependence is a result of uneven development and variations in climate.

Shifting Cultivation

An agricultural practice that relies on slash + burn methods in order to clear land of natural vegetation.

Deforestation

Trees take a very long time to grow and mature. Therefore, the clearing of forests alters the landscape for a long period of time.

Soil salinization

Excessive irrigation results an increase in salts deposited in topsoil (even freshwater has some salt content - after irrigation, water evaporates from the topsoil, leaving salt behind)

Hydroponics

An agricultural method wherein crops are grown in water rather than soil.

Aquaponics

A variation of hydroponics, uses waste from live fish to provide nutrients for the water in which crops are grown.

Urban Farming

Growing or producing food in a city or heavily populated town in order to decrease the prevalence of food deserts and/or food insecurity.

Community-Supported Agriculture (CSAs)

Members of a community buy “shares” of a farm’s harvest in advance and then receive a portion of the crops as they’re harvested.

Organic Farming

An agricultural practice that prioritizes environmental sustainability and prohibits the use of pesticides, antibiotics, fertilizers, GMOs, and growth hormones.

Value-Added Specialty Crops

A manufacturing process that increases the value of agricultural raw materials to appeal to a movement like organic or non-GMO foods

Fair Trade

A movement designed to provide more money for small farmers in less developed countries.

Local Food Movement

The practice of eating local that supports local, small-scale, and often family-owned farms.

Food Deserts

This relates to describing certain urban areas often lack choices for consumers to buy affordable, good-quality, fresh food because grocery stores choose not to locate their stores there.

Food Insecurity

The lack of certainty regarding where your next meal will come from.