Agriculture

Crystal GrayShaundra Wood

Falandus Davidson

What is agriculture?

• Def: deliberate modification of earth’s surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals for either sustenance or economic gain

• Types: subsistence and commercial

Subsistence Commercial

Subsistence vs. Commercial

Subsistence

• Production of food for their own consumption

• For LDCs• 50% in LDCs• Little or no use of

machinery• Farm size can be as

small as less than an acre

• Little or no association with agribusiness

Commercial• Production of food for

economic gain• For MDCs• 2-5% in MDCs• Heavy use of

machinery• Average farm size:

180 hectares (449 acres)

• Majority of farming goes to agribusiness

Agriculture in LDCsAgriculture in MDCs

Agriculture in LDCs• Shifting Cultivation (slash-and-burn agriculture)

~ practiced in the world’s humid, low-latitude climate regions

~land is cleared by slashing crops and burning debris) depletes the soil nutrition

• Pastoral Nomadism ~ based on the herding of domesticated animals~ Pastoral nomads depend primarily on animals rather than crops for survival~ some practice transhumance [migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pasture (where animals graze)]

• Intensive Subsistence ~ ¾ of the world’s population live in LDCs with this type of farming~ tries to get as much food to provide for their family on a small piece of land~ extreme in East, South, and Southeast Asia~ some practice wet rice farming [rice planted on dry land, then seeding are moved to flooded field (sawah)

Agriculture in LDCs (cont.)

• When wet rice farming is not dominant, other crops are planted, such as, wheat, barley, soybeans, or any other dry crop.

• Crop rotation – rotating use of different field from crop to crop each year to avoid exhausting the soil

• Plantation Farming- where a large farm specializes in one or two crops.

Agriculture in MDCs• Mixed crop and livestock

~ in USA: west of Appalachians | stretched from France to Russia~ most crops are for animals~ also implements crop rotation~ Cereal grains: oats, wheat, rye, barley

• Dairy farming~ in NE US, SE Canada, NW Europe, S Asia, and E Asia~ Milkshed- radius where milk can be supplied w/o spoiling~ radius increased from 30 to 300 miles (time period: 1840-present)~ can be labor intensive

• Grain farming~ primary consumption goes to humans~ grains: wheat, corn, oats, barley, rice, millet, etc.~US is the largest commercial producer of grain~ tools: reaper (machine that cuts grain standing in the field) and combine (reaps, threshes, and cleans grain)

Agriculture in MDCs (cont)

• Livestock ranching [PIC]~ Ranching is the commercial grazing of livestock over an extensive area~semiarid/arid land: practiced where vegetation is too sparse and the soil is too poor

• Mediterranean agriculture [PIC]~ practiced in S Europe, N Africa, and western Asia places that border the Mediterranean Sea~also grows crops for human consumption such as fruits and vegetables

• Commercial gardening and fruit farming [PIC]~Also called truck farming ~ in SE US ~ farms crops that are in demand in developed societies or sold to large processors

Agricultural Challenges

• Challenges for commercial farmers- Must be located near the market based on the Von Thunen model - Overproduction of food- Low commodity prices- Some converting to subsistence farming to preserve and enhance environmental quality

• Ridge tillage – system of planting crops on ridge tops• Challenges for subsistence farmers

- must feed an increasing # of ppl b/c of rapid population growth- must also grow food for export as well

• Strategies to increase the food supply-expanding the land area used for agriculture- increasing the productivity of land now used for agriculture-identifying new food sources-increasing exports from other countries