AP Hug Ch 11 Learning Objectives

LO11.1.1: Identify the hearths of agriculture

Agriculture activites centered on cultivating domesticated CROPS and LIVESTOCK in order to get FOOD and fiber for human consumption or use.

LO11.1.2: Distinguish among the first, second, and third agricultural revolutions

1st Ag Rev: - Began with domestication of plants and animals 11,000 years ago - Most geographers agree that agriculture was independently invented at different locations and at different times

2nd Ag Rev: Middle ages - Traced to new agricultural practices in western Europe - Curved metal plate and horse collar created

3rd Ag Rev: Middle ages to now: Extensive mechanization such as tractors and engines - Heavy reliance on irrigation - Chemical application like fertilizers and bio technology

LO11.1.3: Contrast the Green Revolution and Gene Revolution

Green Revolution: The dramatic increase in grain production between 1965 and 1985 in Asia and Latin America from high-yielding, fertilizer, and irrigation - dependent varities of wheat, rice, and corn.

Gene Revolution: The shift, since the 1980s, to greater private and corporate involvement in and control of the research, development, intellectual property and genetic engineering of highly specialized agricultural products especially crop varieties.

LO11.2.1: Distinguish between subsistence and commercial systems of agriculture

Subsistence Commercial

Farm size: small Large

Agricultural activity: diverse specialized

Scale of consumption: household/local national/international

Land tenure: communal, private private, corporate

Purchased inputs: low high

Contract farming: infrequent. frequent

Vertical integration: low high

Proportion of output sold: minority majority or all

LO11.2.2: Discuss the distribution of the four types of subsistence agriculture

Shifiting cultivation: 1. Selecting a size 2. Clearing a field 3. Planting 4. Harvesting 5. Fallowing the land

Pastoralism: An agricultural system in which animal husbandry based on open grazing of herd animals is the sole or dominant system

Wet rice farming: Rice cultivation in a flooded field

Smallholder crop and livestock farming: A farming system characterized by small farms in which the household is the main scale of agricultural production and consumption.

LO11.2.3: Provide examples of specialization in different types of commercial agriculture

Commercial dairy farming: The cows need to be milked a day and have their nutrition closely monitored or they will not produce the desired quality or volume of milk

Mixed crop and livestock: Raising crops to feed livestock. The animal products were sold off the farm, generating most of the farm’s revenue

Commercial Gardening: The intensive production of non-tropical fruits, vegetable and flowers for sale off the farm

Commercial Grain Farming: Heavily dependent of fossil fuels used in the production of fertilizers and in the gas consumed in working the fields

Plantation examples: Coffee, tea, palm-oil, and sugar are cash crops

Livestock Ranching: Ranchers have fixed places of residence and graze their livestock on the open range or on fenced land.

LO11.2.4: Summarze the Von Thunen model

The Von Thunen model explains how different types of agriculture are located relative to a city. It suggests that agricultural activities are organized in concentric circles around a central market. The closer to the market, the more intensive the farming, such as dairy and vegetables, while further away are less intensive practices like grain farming and ranching.

Farmers located near the market or city have low transportation costs and can afford to engage in more intensive agriculture than farmers farther away.

LO11.3.1: Define desertification and salinization

Desertification: The creation of desert-like conditions in non-desert areas through human and/or environmental causes

Overgrazing damages vegetation while poor crop management depletes the soil’s fertility.

Salinization: The accumulation of salts on or in the soil. When irrigation is used in arid/ semi-arid regions where evaporation rates are high, salinization becomes an issue.

LO11.3.2: Distinguish between sustainable agriculture and organic agriculture

Sustainable agriculture: Farming practices that carefully manage natural resources and minimize harmful affects on the environment while maintaining farm profits.

Ex: Contour plowing: Follows slopes in field / Strip cropping: Alternates the planting of row crops / Filter, buffer strip: Belts of vegetation / No till farming: Encourages sustainable land use / Precision agriculture: Uses GPS and aerial imagery to measure and map spatial variation

Organic agriculture: Farming system that promotes sustainable and bio-diverse eco-systems and relies on natural processes and cycles, as opposed to synthetic inputs, such as (fertilizers) and pesticides.

LO11.3.3: Explain how agriculture has been affected by globalization

… globalization of agriculture creates significant challenges especially for POORER countries.

The WTO seeks to make trade freer through the removal of tariffs and other policies that distort the market. Although the LEAST DEVELOPED countries have been given longer time frames to dismantle trade barriers (get rid of tariffs)… < the real question is > can a smaller and much poorer country like JAMAICA compete with the USA? Poor countries can not provide subsidies (govt gives money to help farmers).

The globalization of agriculture also affects DIETS.

Although Asian diets now include a great variety of foodstuffs, many of these items also have more fats and refined sugars, with potential health issues such as obesity and diabetes

Over the past decade, developing countries have witnessed the rapid spread of supermarket. Although they can lower prices, small markets cannot compete with them.