Agricultural Practices Overview

Agricultural Revolutions

Period of technological improvement and increased crop productivity in 18th and early 19th centuries in Europe

Animal Husbandry

Raising and caring for domesticated animals, such as cattle, horses, sheep, and goats, for food, work, or other products

Aquaculture

The practice of raising and harvesting fish, shellfish, and seaweed in controlled environments like ponds, tanks, or ocean enclosures

Bid Rent Curve/Theory

Geographical economic theory that explains how the price and demand for land changes as the distance from the central business district increases

Biotechnology

The use of living organisms, usually genes, to develop products, plants, animals, or microorganisms for specific purposes

Blue Revolution

The significant growth in the worldwide aquaculture industry from the mid-1960s to the present, expanding at an average rate of 9% per year

Capital-Intensive Agriculture

Agricultural method that relies on machinery, tools, vehicles, and facilities to produce large amounts of goods with minimal human labor

Carrying Capacity

The maximum number of people that the environment of a region can support sustainably

Columbian Exchange

The period of cultural and biological exchanges between the New and Old Worlds, leading to significant transformations in European and Native American ways of life

Commercial Agricultural Economy

All agricultural activity aimed at producing goods for sale rather than local consumption

Commodity Chain

The process used by corporations to gather resources, transform them into goods, and transport them to consumers

Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A system that connects farmers and consumers more closely within the food system, allowing consumers to support the harvest of a specific farm or group of farms

Dairying

The practice of raising livestock, primarily cows and goats, for dairy products such as milk, cheese, and butter

Deforestation

The action of clearing a wide area of trees, often to make room for agricultural or urban development

Domestication

The conscious manipulation of plant and animal species by humans to sustain themselves

The Enclosure Act

A series of laws enacted by the British government that allowed landowners to purchase and enclose land for their own use

Farmland Protection Policies

Government policies aimed at protecting farmland and preventing its conversion to other uses, often using zoning to designate areas for agricultural use

Feedlots

Places where livestock are concentrated in a small area, raised on hormones and hearty grains for rapid slaughter

Fertilizer

A substance, either chemical or natural, added to soil or land to increase its fertility and improve crop yields

Food Desert

An area with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, in contrast to an area with higher access to fresh foods, known as a food oasis

Food Insecurity

The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food

Genetically Modified Foods

Foods produced from organisms with altered genes in a laboratory for specific purposes such as disease resistance, increased productivity, or enhanced nutritional value

High-Yield Seeds

Crops that produce more food per farming cycle than other wild varieties, often genetically modified for increased production

Hybridization

The process of breeding two plants with desirable characteristics to produce a single seed with both traits

Infrastructure

The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society, such as roads, bridges, ports, electrical grids, and telecommunications

Irrigation

The process of supplying water to land or crops to help growth, typically using canals, ditches, hoses, or machinery

Labor-Intensive Agriculture

A type of agriculture that requires significant manual labor to succeed

Local Food Movement

The sales and demand for food at local farmers markets, influenced by community and shopping experience

Long Lot

A system creating long rectangular plots of farmland to provide equal access to a river, historically used in French regions of North America

Luxury Crops

Crops not essential to human survival but with a high profit margin, such as pineapples, coffee, and cocoa

Mechanization

The process of replacing human labor with technology or machines in agriculture

Metes and Bounds System

A method of describing land using physical features, directions, and distances to define boundaries

Monoculture

The commercial growing of only one crop in a particular area

Neolithic Revolution (First Agricultural)

The transition from hunting and gathering to settled agriculture, beginning around 12,000 years ago and leading to increased food production, population growth, and the development of the first civilizations

Nomadic Herding

The management of animals into large herds by humans for the production of food and other resources, often practiced by nomadic or pastoralist societies

Planned Agricultural Economy

An agricultural economy found in communist nations in which the government controls both production and distribution

Plantation Farming

Farming in tropical and sub-tropical regions characterized by unfair wages and often tied to present-day slave labor

Subsistence Agricultural Economy

A farm economy in which most crops are grown for nearly exclusive family or local consumption

Organic Farming

A natural approach to farming that utilizes biological diversity to combat pests without pesticides or fertilizers, resulting in lower yields but with health and environmental benefits

Pesticides

Chemicals used on plants to kill pests, with potential negative effects on other species, including humans

Salinization

The process that occurs when soils in arid areas are brought under cultivation through irrigation, leaving salty residues that render the soil infertile

Second Agricultural Revolution

A period of agricultural transformation that occurred mainly during the industrial revolution, leading to increased food production and a population spike

Specialty Crops

Crops, such as peanuts and pineapples, produced for export, usually in developing countries

Subsidies

Financial support provided by the government to specific sectors or businesses

Terrace Farming

The practice of creating flat land areas to store water and allow crops to thrive in hilly or mountainous landscapes, commonly used in Southeast Asia

Third Agricultural Revolution

A period of agricultural advancement in the 1950s-60s, known as the Green Revolution, which introduced chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, new irrigation practices, and high-yield seeds to less developed countries

Urban Farming

The cultivation, processing, and distribution of food in or around urban areas, involving animal husbandry, aquaculture, agroforestry, urban beekeeping, and horticulture

Value Added Specialty Crops

Goods with unique items attached to sell at a higher price, often associated with specialty crops

Wetland Draining

The process of clearing water from wetlands and swamps to make the land accessible for farming, potentially leading to the destruction of the ecosystem