Chapter 5 Agriculture

Agribusiness

Commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually through large corporations.

Agricultural revolution

The process when humans first domesticated plants and animals and stopped relying on hunting and gathering.

Agriculture

The deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through growing crops and raising livestock.

Aquaculture (aquafarming)

The cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions.

Cash crop

A crop grown primarily for sale rather than personal use.

Cereal grain

A grass that produces grain for food.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, people, culture, and technology between the Americas and Europe.

Commercial agriculture

Farming done mainly to produce goods for sale.

Commercial gardening & fruit farming

Small-scale production of fruits, vegetables, and horticultural crops for sale.

Conservation tillage

Farming method that reduces soil erosion and runoff.

Crop

Any plant grown and harvested during a season.

Crop rotation

Planting different crops each year to maintain soil fertility.

Dairy farm

Farm that produces milk and dairy products.

Desertification

Land degradation in dry areas due to human activity.

Dietary energy consumption

The amount of food a person consumes, measured in calories.

Double cropping

Harvesting two crops from the same field in one year.

Fishing

The capture of wild fish and seafood.

Food security

Access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food at all times.

Genetically modified organism (GMO)

An organism whose DNA has been altered using biotechnology.

Grain

The seed of a cereal grass.

Green revolution

Rapid spread of modern farming technology like high-yield seeds and fertilizers.

Herbicide

A chemical used to kill weeds.

Horticulture

Growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants.

Intensive subsistence agriculture

Farming with high labor to maximize output on small land areas.

Milkshed

The area surrounding a city that supplies its milk.

Mixed crop & livestock farming

Farming that combines growing crops and raising animals.

Monocropping

Growing the same crop year after year.

No-tillage (no-till)

Farming that leaves soil undisturbed to reduce erosion.

Organic agriculture

Farming that avoids synthetic chemicals and uses natural methods.

Overfishing

Catching fish faster than they can reproduce.

Paddy

A flooded field used to grow rice.

Pastoral nomadism

Subsistence farming based on herding animals and moving seasonally.

Pesticide

A chemical used to control pests.

Plantation

A large tropical farm that grows cash crops for export.

Ranching

Raising livestock on large areas of land.

Ridge tillage

Planting crops on raised ridges to reduce erosion.

Sawah

A flooded rice-growing field.

Second agricultural revolution

Increased farming productivity due to new techniques in the 17th century.

Shifting cultivation

Farming where land is used temporarily and then left to recover.

Subsistence agriculture

Farming for personal consumption.

Transhumance

Seasonal movement of livestock between regions.

Truck farming

Growing fruits and vegetables for sale.

Undernourishment

Not consuming enough calories to stay healthy.

Wet rice

Rice grown in flooded fields after being transplanted.