Chapter 10: Agriculture

Key Issue I: Where did agriculture originate?

Origins of AgricultureAgriculture – deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals for sustenance or economic gainCrop – any plant cultivated by people

Hunters and Gatherersquarter million people today or .005 of populationlive in isolated locations, i.e. African Bushmen and Aborigineslive in periphery of world settlement

Origins of Agriculture cont…

Invention of Agricultureaccidentally/ trial and error

animals for religious ceremonies

Two Types of Cultivationvegetative planting – direct cloning

Seed agriculture – annual planting (practiced by most farmers today)

B. Location of Agricultural HearthsLocation of First Vegetative Plantingstarted in southeast Asia and diffused to China and Japan, westward to India, tropical Africa, and the Mediterranean

Dog, pig, and chicken probably first domesticated in Southeast Asiaother vegetative hearths are in West Africa and South America

Location of First Seed Agriculturewestern India, northern China, and EthiopiaIndia to southwest Asia

• first to integrate seed and animal domestication

Locations of First Seed Agr. Cont…

C. Diffusion of Seed Agriculture

see image

C. Classifying Agricultural HearthsFundamental differences exist b/t MDCs and LDCs

LDCs are generally subsistenceMDCs practice commercial agr.

Five Features distinguish commercial from subsistence farming.Purpose of Farming

• LDCS produce food for individual use• MDCS grow crops and raise animals for sale to food processing companies

Percentage of Farmers in the Labor Force• LDCS – more than half in labor force• MDCS – less than 1/10 in labor force• US and Canada only 2% of labor force – still produces a surplus of

food• Dramatic decline of MDC farmers in 20th century

US 6 million in 1940 now 2 million push and pull factors responsible for decline

Five Features of Farming cont…Use of Machinery

• All iron plow 1770s

• 19th – 20th centuries: tractors, combines, corn pickers, and planters.

• Transportation Improvements railroads, high-ways, trucks, and refrigeration Scientific advances – fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, hybrids,

animal breeds, etc. Electronics – GPS

Farm Size

Five Features of Farming Cont…Farm Size

444 acres in US commercial farms98% of US commercial farms are family ownedUS 29,000 largest farms avg. more than 3,000 acres and produce revenues of $3 million or $1,000/acre

• 1.4% of US farms and 48% of agr. Sales• 50% of US farms less than $5,000 per years and $50/acre

US has 60% fewer farms and 85% fewer farmers in 2000 than in 1900US has been losing prime agricultural land to urban sprawl

Five Features of Farming Cont…

Relationship to Other BusinessesAgribusiness

• Commercial farming utilizes modern communications and tech. to keep track of prices, yields, and expenditures

• Farmers are 2% of labor force

• 20% of US labor works in food related businesses

Mapping Agricultural RegionsWhittlesey’s 11 agr. Regions (climate regions)

Subsistence Agriculture (LDCs)• Shifting cultivation• Intensive subsistence, wet rice dominant• Intensive subsistence, wet rice not dominant• Pastoral nomadism

Commercial Agriculture (MDCs)• Mixed crop and livestock• Dairy• Grain• Livestock ranching• Meditteranean• Commercial Gardening

Plantation and no agricultureCultural Practices (alcohol avoidance)

Where Are Agricultural Regions in Less Developed Countries?

Shifting CultivationPracticed in Humid Low-Latitude, high temperatures and abundant rainfall

• Amazon, Central/West Africa, and Southeast Asia

Two Hallmarks• Slash and burn agr. (swidden)

• Plant and fallow system

Crops

Food Supplies Over the Last 200 Years

A. Malthus’ prediction – (pop. & food supply)- he was wrong – technological innovations, new farm land, and crop transplants

B. Reasons for Increased Supplies1. Added croplands, transplant of crops to new areas (i.e. corn and

maize)

2. New cropland - new lands opened by irrigation

3. Transportation and storage - faster and larger refrigeration methods, protects against spoilage and pests

4. Green revolution - as applied to agriculture not environment (better varieties, higher yields)

C. Technological advances – fertilizers, pesticides & machines

The World of Agriculture pg. 323

Current Production of Potatoes and Rice pg. 324

II. Agriculture Today (re-write)A. Success dependent on GeographyB. Hunter-gatherers – still exist in small groupsC. Subsistence agriculture - Food for self and family, large

amount of labor, minimal technology1. Polyculture gives way to monoculture crops

D. Commercial agriculture - food for sale (food co.)1. Little labor, much capital investment in technology, Polyculture

Raising a variety of crops

MonocultureSpecializing in one type

Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture

Subsistence TraitsRelies mostly on human labor – little animal or machine power

Low technology use

Smaller average farm size

Most food is consumed by farmer

Commercial TraitsRelies on capital investment in machinery, chemicals, improved seedsLarge average farm sizeProducts sold to agribusiness companiesFewer family owned farms

Subsistence vs. Commercial Agr.

Types of Agriculture

A. Defined by five variables1. Natural environment

2. Crops that are most productive in that environment

3. Degree of technology used

4. Market orientation

5. . Raised for human or animal consumption

10 Categories of Agriculture

Irrigated

Nomadic herding

Low tech subsistence

Intensive rice

Asian mixed cereals/pulses

Mixed farming with livestock

Prairie cereals

Ranching

Mediterranean grains fruits and vegetables

Plantation agriculture

Types of Agriculture Cont…

IrrigatedIncludes many farming styles from subsistence to intensive production

Nomadic herdingPastoral nomads

Depend on animals

Animals sold or consumed

12-15 million nomads today

Government settlement

Types of Agriculture Cont…

Low-tech subsistenceSlash-and-burn

Swidden = “to singe”

Amazon, Central and West Africa

Supports low levels of population

Intensive rice farmingEast, South and Southeast Asia

Work done by hand

Wet rice important source of food

Sawah

Double cropping

Types of Agriculture Cont…

Asian mixed cereal and pulse farming

Interior India and northeast China

Wheat and barley

Pulses = pea or legume family

Mixed farming with livestock

Usually commercial

Crops fed to livestock

Dominant in most of world

Mixed farming in the “corn belt”

Production of Oats, Barley, and Rye pg. 329

World Maize Production pg. 325

Types of Agriculture Cont…

Prairie cerealsLarge scale commercial grain production

Wheat

Areas of concentration in North America

• Winter wheat belt

• Spring wheat belt

• Palouse region

RanchingCommercial grazing

Arid or semiarid land

Cattle – North and South America

Sheep – Australia

World Wheat Production pg. 330

Agricultural Productivity pg. 332

Types of Agriculture Cont…

MediterraneanMediterranean climates

Hot dry summers, cool rainy winters

Most crops for human consumption

Olives, grapes, fruits and vegetables

PlantationLarge commercial farm

Latin America, Asia, Africa

Coffee, sugarcane, bananas, rubber

Determining Productivity

Capital investmentTechnology EquipmentFertilizers/pesticidesIrrigation

Natural environmentTechnology and capital investment lessens the importance

Livestock

Grain consumptionDirect and indirect

Per capita consumption of meat

Problems with animal productionEnvironmental

Dairy farmingValue added by manufacturing

Future Food SuppliesNew crop potential

Preserving genetic diversityCultural acceptance

Scientific revolutionGene splicingGenetically modified (GM)Cloning

Resistance to biotechnologyReligious / cultural / environmental

Global warming

Distribution of Supplies and Production

Poor distributionHunger/famine

Political strife

Countries import and export food

Increase in production

Improvement in distribution

Problems Increasing Food Production

Diminishing returns of fertilizersFinancial incentives

Pricing controlsTaxes

Land ownershipConcentration of ownership Collective farming/ Communism

Commercial cash crops in developing countriesLeading to economic self sufficiency?Illegal drugs

Policies of Wealthy Countries

High tariffs to protect markets

Farm subsidiesEncourage surpluses in rich areas

Decrease production in poor areas

Impact on world market

Subsidies: Reasons & Results

ReasonsProtects farmers

National security

Tradition

Political

ResultsLow price

Restricts competition

Effect on trade and production

Fish HarvestTraditional fishing

Physical and financial risksSmall fraction of global catch

Modern fishingFisheriesOverfishing and depletionIncreasing regulation

AquacultureHerding and domesticating aquatic speciesFertilizer production

End of Chapter 8