Unit 5

Subsistence Farming

Grown for yourself/family.

• fewer machines, more labor, small plots, multi cropping, and mostly women

• Common in LDCs

Ex of Subsistence farming: shifting cultivation(slash and burn), intensive distance (rice/non rice), pastoral nomadism

Commercial Farming

Grow to sell

• large farms, lots of machines, less labor, agribusiness(owned multiple parts of the operation = more revenue), monoculture, few women, and lots of capital benefits.

• MDCs and some LDCs

Ex of Commercial farming: mixed crop and livestock, Dairying, grain, ranching, Mediterranean, commercial gardening, plantation(LDCs only)

Intensive farming

Less land and closer to market, high yield per acre, high labor and capital costs.

Extensive

Lots of land and far from market, low yield per acre, low capital and labor costs.

1st Agricultural Revolution

Independent domestication of plant and animal hearths.

Hearths: Fertile Crescent (SW Asia), Indus River Valley (South Asia), SE Asia, Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa.

Diffusion: Contagious

Diffusion of plants-animals from hearth(later on):

Relocation diffusion from trade and migration. Ex: Columbian Exchange

Advantages: Steady food supply, population increase, more jobs.

Costs: Food crops fail = starvation, spread of disease, hard to leave site.

2nd Agricultural Revolution

Introduction of crop rotation, new tech. and increased food production.

New Tech: Steel plow - 1819

Seed drill -1800’s

Reaper - 1981

Grain Elevators - 1849

Barbed wire - 1870’s

Fertilizer - 1903

Advantages: Better diets, longer life expectancy/population growth, economic growth, lead to industrial revolution.

Costs: Displacement of farmers(less farmers and bigger farms), profit driven(commercialization).

Green Rev.

Fully-mechanized farming(tractors and combines)

Access to new land and more intensive use of land(high-yield hybrid seeds), monoculture and monocropping.

Advantages: more food, efficient farming.

Costs: social inequalities(male vs. female workers), favors larger farms, environmental damage(soil erosion), less biodiversity.

Long Lot Survey Method/Linear settlement pattern

Rectangle linear shaped lots, along waterways for easy transport, more equal quality of land.

Originates from France

Metes and bounds survey method/clustered settlement pattern

Some physical features are used to place this settlement pattern(ex. creek or trees), more random looking, good for short distances.

Origin: UK - seen in Eastern US.

Township and range survey method/dispersed settlement pattern

Created from the Land Ordinance Act 1785, very orderly and efficient, technology used, geometric - rectangle linear or square-like grid, sectioned off and sold(6×6 sq mile), not equality quality of land, found in American Midwest.

Von Thunen model 1826

Explains land use in proximity to market. Land costs - the closer you are to the market, the more expensive the land is. Transportation costs - the farther you are from the market, the more it costs to transport to market.

Rings:

Market gardens and dairy

forests/fuel

grains

livestock

Agribusiness

Focuses on production, processing, marketing, and lobbying. Helps give resources to mergy farms and buy expensive machinery. Mechanization = easier to have large farms. The more crop production, the more cost efficient it is.

Genetically Modified Organisms(GMO)

Plants or animals that scientist modified in a lab by extracting genes of one species and inserting them into the DNA of another species. Ex: Drought and Pest resistant. NOT hybrid seeds.

Aquaculture

Practice of raising and harvesting fish in water. Founded in China and SE Asia.

Blue Revolution

The fastest growing form of food production on the planet - 50% of the world’s seafood.

Urban Farming

Growing or producing food in a city or heavily populated area

Organic Farming

Focuses on sustainability, enhancing soil fertility, and biological diversity. Does not use fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, or GMOs. Makes up 1% of global farming.

Value-added Specialty Crops

Something new through packaging, processing, cooling, during extracting, or other processes that change a product from its original raw form. More expensive to buy than basic raw crops. helps small farmers compete with mass corporate farming.

Fair Trade - Empowering Small Farmers Globally

Purpose: designed to get more money into the hands of small farmers in poor countries.

Issue: Only 1/3 of price of good is returned to producer in LDCs.

Co-ops: Farmers banding together.

Impacts: Fair wages, environmental and safety standards, more expensive, targeting plantation crops(coffee, tea, bananas, and chocolate).

Agriculture Environmental Issues

Little biodiversity: less variety in crops(monocropping/monoculture)

Animal Waste: Feedlots - thousands of animals in very limited spaces - can create air and water pollution from concentrated waste.

Sustainability: maintaining soil without depleting it.

Chemicals and Fossil Fuels: fertilizers, pesticides, chemicals for animals, herbicides, limited fossil fuels.

Debt for Nature Swaps: a core country forgives peripheral debt for a focus on conservation projects in peripheral.

Consequences of Climate Change

Extreme Weather Events: climate change leads to more frequent and intense weather - tornadoes, hurricanes, etc;

Displacement leads to climate refugees and conflict over scarce resources.

Consequences of Desertification

Prolonged droughts and degradation cause widespread desertification.

irrigation

Using water to grow crops - can cause soil salinization(water-soluble salts accumulate in soil). Over irrigation = too many minerals in crops.

Commercial Grain Agriculture

Definition: Focuses on cultivating cereal crops like wheat, corn, barley, and rice.

Intensive or Extensive: Extensive - large-scale mechanization with the use of combines and tractors.

Subsistence or Commercial: Commercial - sells for human consumption

Where: Southeast United States, Eastern Europe(Ukraine), India, China, and Argentina.

Dairy

Definition: Raises livestock for dairy products near market - perishable products.

Intensive or Extensive: Intensive - relies on high inputs of feed, labor, and technology to maximize milk production per cow.

Subsistence or Commercial: Commercial - makes products for profit rather than personal consumption.

Where: Northeast United States, Southeast Canada, Northwest Europe, and India(largest producer).

Crop and Livestock

Definition: Uses most crops grown to feed animals. Animal manure can be used as a soil fertilizer.

Intensive or Extensive: Intensive - high levels of labor, capital, and inputs, but uses less land than regular livestock farming.

Subsistence or Commercial: Commercial - crops are grown to feed livestock and sell animal products.

Where: Midwest US and Canada, Central Europe.

Mediterranean

Definition: Grows multiple crops, specialized farming in regions with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Focuses on growing drought resistant crops like olives, grapes, citrus, and figs. Uses dry farming and terracing to manage water scarcity and support local economies

Intensive or Extensive: Intensive - small plots of land

Subsistence or Commercial: Commercial - produced for export or processing.

Where: Southern coast of Europe(Mediterranean Sea), Northern coast of Africa, Pacific coast of the US(California), and Chile.

Market Gardening

Definition: Mass fruit and vegetable farming with intercropping in limited space.

Intensive or Extensive: Intensive(by market, so land is expensive)(high labor)

Subsistence or Commercial: Commercial, focuses on the production of high-value crops for profit.

Where: Southern and Western US, SE Australia, Latin America, and Southern Europe.

Pastoral Nomadism

Definition: Herding of domesticated animals and seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures.

Intensive or Extensive: Extensive - migrates over a large area of land

Subsistence or Commercial: Subsistence - primary goal is to provide food, milk, shelter, and clothing for the family.

Where: Southwest, Central, East Asia, and North Africa.

Livestock ranching

Definition: Grazing of livestock over a large area of land.

Intensive or Extensive: Extensive - grazing of livestock over a large area

Subsistence or Commercial: Commercial - raising animals and selling to make a profit.

Where: Western North America, Southeast South America, Central Asia, and Australia.

Plantation

Definition: Focused on growing one or a few cash crops(bananas, tea, coffee, sugarcane, cocoa, palm oil).

Intensive or Extensive: Intensive - high inputs of labor and capital(expensive to farm a large area)

Subsistence or Commercial: Commercial - monoculture farming to produce cash crops ot make a profit.

Where: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Intensive Subsistence(Wet Rice)

Definition: Land used primarily for wet rice, field plowed, flooded, plant seedlings, and harvest(terraces are common).

Intensive or Extensive: Intensive - high labor input on small plots of land.

Subsistence or Commercial: Subsistence - focused on maximizing food for local families.

Where: Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Asia(near large populations).

Shifting Cultivation(slash and burn)

Definition: Farmers clear forested land, burn the vegetation for nutrient-rich ash, and farm the plot for 3-5 years.

Intensive or Extensive: Extensive - large area of land, low labor.

Subsistence or Commercial: Growing for family needs, not large-scale sscale market sales.

Where: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.