UNIT 5 REVIEW Agriculture ANSWER KEY
Agriculture involves modifying Earth's surface through cultivation of plants and rearing animals for sustenance or economic gain.
Vegetative Planting: Reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants.
Examples: Southeast Asia, West Africa, NW South America.
Seed Agriculture: Reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds resulting from sexual fertilization.
Examples: Western India, Northern China, Ethiopia, Southern Mexico, Northern Peru.
Carl Sauer believed vegetative planting was the earliest form of plant cultivation.
Subsistence Farming: Production of food primarily for the farmer's family consumption.
Commercial Farming: Production of food primarily for sale off the farm.
Percentage of Farmers in Labor Force:
More than half globally, less than one-tenth in some regions.
Use of Machinery:
Small farms rely on people or animals, while large farms use machinery.
Farm Size:
Small farms vs. large farms, with US farms averaging 444 acres.
Relationship to Other Businesses:
Isolated vs. closely tied to other businesses, integrated into agribusiness.
First Agricultural Revolution: Transition from hunting and gathering to plant and animal domestication.
Second Agricultural Revolution: Increase in agricultural production linked to new practices like crop rotation.
Columbian Exchange: Transfer of plants, animals, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World.
Third Agricultural Revolution (Green Revolution): Increased agricultural production through new technologies.
Fourth Agricultural Revolution: Focus on engineering, digital agriculture, and organic farming.
Shifting Cultivation: Clearing land for planting, common in humid, low-latitude regions.
Pastoral Nomadism: Based on herding animals, declining due to technology.
Intensive Subsistence: Farmers maximize yield from land, common in high-density areas.
Plantation: Large farms specializing in one or two crops, found in tropics and subtropics.
Mixed Crop & Livestock: Integration of crops and livestock, common in regions like the Corn Belt.
Dairy Farming: Important near urban areas, requires constant attention.
Grain Farming: Primarily for human consumption, important for US and Canada's economic strength.
Livestock Farming and Ranching
Commercial grazing of livestock over extensive areas
Found in semi-arid or arid lands with sparse vegetation
Mediterranean Agriculture
Crops grown for human consumption in Mediterranean lands
Includes horticulture, tree crops, fruits, vegetables, and flowers
Regions like Southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, California, Chile, South Africa, and Australia
Commercial Gardening & Fruit Farming
Truck farming involves bartering or exchanging commodities
Predominant in the US Southeast with long growing seasons and humid climates
Utilizes migrant workers and experimentation to keep prices low
Von Thunen Model
Explains crop selection based on transportation costs to market
Considers yield value per hectare and transportation costs
Rings in the Model
First Ring: garden and dairy products for quick market reach
Second Ring: wood lots due to weight importance
Third Ring: grains and field crops
Outside Ring: animal grazing requiring ample space
Assumptions of the Model
Isolation of the market with no external trade
Uniform flat land with consistent fertility
Transportation via horses and carts
Factors not considered
Human factors, improved transportation, technology, regional markets, and corporations
Food Crisis and Climate Change
Ester Boserup's theory on population change driving agricultural intensity
Impact of climate change on agriculture and vice versa
Extreme weather events disrupting land, crops, and growing seasons
Agriculture's contribution to carbon dioxide emissions and deforestation
Modern Agriculture
Industrial agriculture with benefits like cheap food and convenience
Drawbacks include environmental and social costs, health risks, and pollution
Agribusiness integration and sustainable agriculture practices
Challenges for Farmers
Subsistence and commercial farmers facing the need to produce more food sustainably
Issues like urban expansion, desertification, and market power consolidation
Famine & Malnutrition
Hunger and malnutrition definitions
Food desert vs. food oasis
Strategies to increase food supply through land expansion, higher production methods, new food sources, and imports
Women in Agriculture
Empowering women for better family health and food security
Women's critical role in agriculture, income generation, and nutrition
Agriculture involves modifying Earth's surface through cultivation of plants and rearing animals for sustenance or economic gain.
Vegetative Planting: Reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants.
Examples: Southeast Asia, West Africa, NW South America.
Seed Agriculture: Reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds resulting from sexual fertilization.
Examples: Western India, Northern China, Ethiopia, Southern Mexico, Northern Peru.
Carl Sauer believed vegetative planting was the earliest form of plant cultivation.
Subsistence Farming: Production of food primarily for the farmer's family consumption.
Commercial Farming: Production of food primarily for sale off the farm.
Percentage of Farmers in Labor Force:
More than half globally, less than one-tenth in some regions.
Use of Machinery:
Small farms rely on people or animals, while large farms use machinery.
Farm Size:
Small farms vs. large farms, with US farms averaging 444 acres.
Relationship to Other Businesses:
Isolated vs. closely tied to other businesses, integrated into agribusiness.
First Agricultural Revolution: Transition from hunting and gathering to plant and animal domestication.
Second Agricultural Revolution: Increase in agricultural production linked to new practices like crop rotation.
Columbian Exchange: Transfer of plants, animals, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World.
Third Agricultural Revolution (Green Revolution): Increased agricultural production through new technologies.
Fourth Agricultural Revolution: Focus on engineering, digital agriculture, and organic farming.
Shifting Cultivation: Clearing land for planting, common in humid, low-latitude regions.
Pastoral Nomadism: Based on herding animals, declining due to technology.
Intensive Subsistence: Farmers maximize yield from land, common in high-density areas.
Plantation: Large farms specializing in one or two crops, found in tropics and subtropics.
Mixed Crop & Livestock: Integration of crops and livestock, common in regions like the Corn Belt.
Dairy Farming: Important near urban areas, requires constant attention.
Grain Farming: Primarily for human consumption, important for US and Canada's economic strength.
Livestock Farming and Ranching
Commercial grazing of livestock over extensive areas
Found in semi-arid or arid lands with sparse vegetation
Mediterranean Agriculture
Crops grown for human consumption in Mediterranean lands
Includes horticulture, tree crops, fruits, vegetables, and flowers
Regions like Southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, California, Chile, South Africa, and Australia
Commercial Gardening & Fruit Farming
Truck farming involves bartering or exchanging commodities
Predominant in the US Southeast with long growing seasons and humid climates
Utilizes migrant workers and experimentation to keep prices low
Von Thunen Model
Explains crop selection based on transportation costs to market
Considers yield value per hectare and transportation costs
Rings in the Model
First Ring: garden and dairy products for quick market reach
Second Ring: wood lots due to weight importance
Third Ring: grains and field crops
Outside Ring: animal grazing requiring ample space
Assumptions of the Model
Isolation of the market with no external trade
Uniform flat land with consistent fertility
Transportation via horses and carts
Factors not considered
Human factors, improved transportation, technology, regional markets, and corporations
Food Crisis and Climate Change
Ester Boserup's theory on population change driving agricultural intensity
Impact of climate change on agriculture and vice versa
Extreme weather events disrupting land, crops, and growing seasons
Agriculture's contribution to carbon dioxide emissions and deforestation
Modern Agriculture
Industrial agriculture with benefits like cheap food and convenience
Drawbacks include environmental and social costs, health risks, and pollution
Agribusiness integration and sustainable agriculture practices
Challenges for Farmers
Subsistence and commercial farmers facing the need to produce more food sustainably
Issues like urban expansion, desertification, and market power consolidation
Famine & Malnutrition
Hunger and malnutrition definitions
Food desert vs. food oasis
Strategies to increase food supply through land expansion, higher production methods, new food sources, and imports
Women in Agriculture
Empowering women for better family health and food security
Women's critical role in agriculture, income generation, and nutrition
