Unit 5: Agriculture

Agricultural

Intentional planting of crops and raising of domesticated animals

Neolithic Revolution

Eventually plant cultivation evolved from a process of trial and error, and accidental experiment.

Second Agricultural Revolution

Characterized by new farming techniques, crop rotation, and selective breeding, which increased food production and efficiency.

Enclosure Act of Great Britain 

The enclosure acts created legal property rights to land previously held in common in England and Wales

Cyprus McCormick’s Reaper

a horse-drawn mechanical harvester patented in 1834 that revolutionized grain harvesting

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, culture, and people between the Americas (New World) and the Old World

Warm Mid-latitudes

Vegetables, Fruit, Rice

Mediterranean

Grapes, Olives, Dates

Grasslands

Continental steppe -- cattle ranching, sheep, goats horses, camels

Subtropical

Rice, Cotton, Tobacco

Tropical

Coffee, Sugar, Tea, Cacao, Pineapple

The Green Revolution

The diffusion of agricultural technologies and practices to less developed areas:

Agri-Business

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

Genetically Modified Crops 

Crops that carry new traits that have been inserted through advanced genetic engineering methods. Change the DNA of the seed.

Organic Agriculture

The production of crops without the use of synthetic or industrially produced pesticides and fertilizers or the raising of livestock without hormones, antibiotics, and synthetic feeds.

Commercial Agriculture

Primarily for purpose of selling products for money, often monocultures (one crop) for economies of scale (large amount to make a profit)

Subsistence Agriculture 

Primarily for direct consumption by a local population, usually small scale and low tech

Labor-Intensive Agriculture

Large amount of human work is applied per unit of output

Capital-Intensive Agriculture

Large amount of capital (equipment and buildings used to produce other goods) is applied per unit of output

Intensive Land Use

Small-area farms or ranches, high inputs of labor & high output per acre

Extensive Land Use

Large-area farms or ranches, low inputs of labor & low output per acre