Chapter 10: Agriculture
Key Issue I: Where did agriculture
originate?
Origins of Agriculture
Agriculture – deliberate modification of Earth’s
surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of
animals for sustenance or economic gain
Crop – any plant cultivated by people
Hunters and Gatherers
quarter million people today or .005 of population
live in isolated locations, i.e. African Bushmen and
Aborigines
live in periphery of world settlement
Origins of Agriculture cont…
Invention of Agriculture
accidentally/ trial and error
animals for religious ceremonies
Two Types of Cultivation
vegetative planting – direct cloning
Seed agriculture – annual planting (practiced by
most farmers today)
B. Location of Agricultural Hearths
Location of First Vegetative Planting
started 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
Asia
other vegetative hearths are in West Africa and South America
Location of First Seed Agriculture
western India, northern China, and Ethiopia
India 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 Hearths
Fundamental differences exist b/t MDCs and LDCs
LDCs are generally subsistence
MDCs 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
food
• Dramatic decline of MDC farmers in 20th century
 US 6 million in 1940 now 2 million
 push and pull factors responsible for decline
surplus of
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 farms
98% of US commercial farms are family owned
US 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 1900
US has been losing prime agricultural land to urban
sprawl
Five Features of Farming Cont…
Relationship to Other Businesses
Agribusiness
• 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 Regions
Whittlesey’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 agriculture
Cultural Practices (alcohol avoidance)
Where Are Agricultural Regions in
Less Developed Countries?
Shifting Cultivation
Practiced 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 Supplies
1. 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 &
The World of Agriculture pg. 323
Current Production of Potatoes and Rice pg.
324
II. Agriculture Today (re-write)
A. Success dependent on Geography
B. Hunter-gatherers – still exist in small groups
C. Subsistence agriculture - Food for self and family, large
amount of labor, minimal technology
1. 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
Monoculture
Specializing in one type
Subsistence and Commercial
Agriculture
Subsistence Traits
Relies mostly on
human labor – little
animal or machine
power
Low technology use
Smaller average farm
size
Most food is consumed
by farmer
Commercial Traits
Relies on capital
investment in
machinery, chemicals,
improved seeds
Large average farm
size
Products sold to
agribusiness
companies
Fewer family owned
farms
Subsistence vs. Commercial Agr.
Types of Agriculture
A. Defined by five variables
1. 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…
Irrigated
Includes many farming
styles from subsistence
to intensive production
Nomadic herding
Pastoral nomads
Depend on animals
Animals sold or
consumed
12-15 million nomads
today
Government settlement
Types of Agriculture Cont…
Low-tech subsistence
Slash-and-burn
Swidden = “to singe”
Amazon, Central and
West Africa
Supports low levels of
population
Intensive rice farming
East, 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 cereals
Large scale
commercial grain
production
Wheat
Areas of concentration
in North America
• Winter wheat belt
• Spring wheat belt
• Palouse region
Ranching
Commercial 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…
Mediterranean
Mediterranean climates
Hot dry summers, cool
rainy winters
Most crops for human
consumption
Olives, grapes, fruits
and vegetables
Plantation
Large commercial farm
Latin America, Asia,
Africa
Coffee, sugarcane,
bananas, rubber
Determining Productivity
Capital investment
Technology
Equipment
Fertilizers/pesticides
Irrigation
Natural environment
Technology and capital investment lessens the
importance
Livestock
Grain consumption
Direct and indirect
Per capita consumption of meat
Problems with animal production
Environmental
Dairy farming
Value added by manufacturing
Future Food Supplies
New crop potential
Preserving genetic diversity
Cultural acceptance
Scientific revolution
Gene splicing
Genetically modified (GM)
Cloning
Resistance to biotechnology
Religious / cultural / environmental
Global warming
Distribution of Supplies and
Production
Poor distribution
Hunger/famine
Political strife
Countries import and export food
Increase in production
Improvement in distribution
Problems Increasing Food
Production
Diminishing returns of fertilizers
Financial incentives
Pricing controls
Taxes
Land ownership
Concentration of ownership
Collective farming/ Communism
Commercial cash crops in developing countries
Leading to economic self sufficiency?
Illegal drugs
Policies of Wealthy Countries
High tariffs to protect markets
Farm subsidies
Encourage surpluses in rich areas
Decrease production in poor areas
Impact on world market
Subsidies: Reasons & Results
Reasons
Protects farmers
National security
Tradition
Political
Results
Low price
Restricts competition
Effect on trade and production
Fish Harvest
Traditional fishing
Physical and financial risks
Small fraction of global catch
Modern fishing
Fisheries
Overfishing and depletion
Increasing regulation
Aquaculture
Herding and domesticating aquatic species
Fertilizer production
End of Chapter 8