Agricultural Geography: Agricultural Regions and Cultivation

What is capital intensive agriculture?

farming with little human labor but lots of tools and machinery

What is labor intensive agriculture?

farming with lots of people and few tools

What are some features of intensive subsistence agriculture?

high yield for small land area; rice is the dominant crop, as well as wheat, corn and millet; occurs in densely populated areas of Asia and Africa; methods include double cropping and crop rotation

What are some limitations of pastoralism?

it's in decline worldwide due to land reallocation; cannot support a large population and must rely on trading of goods to meet needs

What are some limitations of plantation agriculture?

laborers grow unnecessarily unhealthy crops; price fluctuations that can damage the economies of countries that grow the crop

What is swidden?

land that's been cleared for farming by slash and burn techniques; usually has topsoil high in nutrients due to the high ash content

What is commercial gardening?

large-scale fruit and vegetable farming sold both as fresh produce and canned

What is commercial grain farming?

large-scale grain farms where crops are grown primarily for export for both human and animal consumption

What are some features of dairying?

located near large urban areas of the US, Canada, Europe and Australia; most economically productive type of agriculture; close to cities due to perishable product; technology for the farm is expensive

In what ways does economy shape agriculture?

may determine what form of agriculture exists in a region based on how profitable the product is, how costly it is to grow, and the cost of land and labor required

What is double cropping?

required farmers to harvest twice a year; usually occurs in conjunction with the farming technique of intensive subsistence agriculture

What are some features of ranching?

requires a huge amount of land due to large herds of animals; practiced in semi-arid areas in the western US, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina as well as small pockets in Europe (Spain and Portugal)

What type of agriculture is pastoralism?

subsistence, labor intensive, extensive agriculture

What type of agriculture is shifting cultivation?

subsistence, labor intensive, extensive agriculture

What type of agriculture is intensive subsistence agriculture?

subsistence, labor intensive, intensive agriculture

What is pastoralism?

a largely LDC farming technique; the breeding and herding of animals to produce food, shelter and clothing for survival

What is Mediterranean agriculture?

a specialized form of agriculture due to a variety of unique crops grown in climates that are hot and dry in the summer and mild and wet in the winter

What is intensive subsistence agriculture?

an LDC farming technique; farmers cultivate a small amount of land very efficiently to produce food for their families, not for selling on the market

What is shifting cultivation?

an LDC farming technique; farmers rotate the fields they cultivate to allow the soil to replenish its nutrients; this is NOT crop rotation

What is plantation agriculture?

an LDC farming technique; involves large-scale farming operations, known as plantations or agricultural estates, specializing in one or two high-demand crops for export

What is mixed crop/livestock farming?

an MDC farming practice; involves both growing crops and raising animals; most of the crops are grown to feed the animals

What are slash and burn techniques?

an agricultural technique usually used to facilitate shifting cultivation, in which crops are grown (usually in poor soil), harvested, and then their fields are burned so the ash replenishes soil nutrients

What is "truck farming"?

another word for commercial gardening; derived from word for barter as these items were originally produced for local markets

In what ways does culture shape agriculture?

aspects of culture can determine what agricultural products are grown and consumed; for example, rice in Asia, corn in Central America, no pork in the Middle East, no beef in India

What are some limitations of shifting cultivation?

cannot support dense populations; soil depletes rapidly, leading to deforestation

What is ranching?

commercial grazing, or the raising of animals on a plot of land for the production of meat, wool, leather, and other animal-related companies

What type of agriculture is commercial grain farming?

commercial, capital intensive, extensive agriculture

What type of farming is mixed crop/livestock farming?

commercial, capital intensive, intensive

What type of agriculture is dairying?

commercial, capital intensive, intensive agriculture

What type of agriculture is plantation agriculture?

commercial, labor intensive (transitioning to be capital intensive), extensive agriculture

What type of agriculture is commercial gardening?

commercial, labor intensive, intensive or extensive (depends on the crop)

What is a limitation of commercial gardens?

crops must be grown near a market or required refrigerated transport due to spoilage issues

What are some limitations of mixed crop/livestock farming?

due to location, land is at a premium and farmers struggle to make a huge profit; farms disappearing due to land reallocation

What are some limitations of commercial grain farming?

due to low market prices, farms have become highly corporatized; expensive equipment needed for production

What are the three factors that can impact agriculture (regions and cultivation)?

environment, culture, economics

What are some limitations of intensive subsistence agriculture?

farmers are forced to grow on various types of terrains due to land limitations; can only produce enough to feed their family, which makes earning an income difficult

What is commercial agriculture?

farming for mass consumption and profit

What is subsistence agriculture?

farming for personal consumption

What is intensive agriculture?

farming that has greater yields off smaller areas

What is extensive agriculture?

farming that needs lots of land but is not efficient

What are some features of Mediterranean agriculture?

most successful in climates of Western/Southern Europe, the Middle East, California, Western South America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; variety of fruits and vegetables for human consumption like olives, grapes, avocados, nuts

What are some limitations of ranching?

much of the rainforest destruction in South America is for the purposes of cattle-ranching; lessening in the US due to low grain prices and high meat quality standards

What are some features of mixed crop/livestock farming?

practiced in Eastern North America and Europe; usually near urban centers (so farms are smaller due to land costs); most income from beef, milk, eggs, and fertilizer; heavy use of crop rotation

What are some features of pastoralism?

practiced in dry mountain regions, plains and deserts of Africa and Asia where plant growth is difficult; herders practice transhumance and travel wide areas so their herd can graze; use animals for food, clothing, milk and skins; type of animal varies

What are some features of commercial gardening?

practiced in the American Southeast and other regions with similar long growing seasons, humid weather, near urban areas and with a transportation infrastructure; commonly referred to as "Truck Farming"

What are some limitations of Mediterranean agriculture?

price for products can be high due to limited growing regions

What are some limitations of dairying?

price of dairy products tend to be expensive due to technology required; environmental pollution

What are some features of plantation agriculture?

primarily found in and around the tropics; produces various cash crops like coffee, tea, pineapples, palms, rubber, tobacco, sugar and cotton; often controlled by corporations located in MDCs but requires LDC labor; crops exported for sale, not necessarily domestic consuption

What are some features of shifting cultivation?

primarily practiced in tropic zones and rainforest regions with poor soil quality; slash and burn creates swidden; needs large labor force and extensive acreage; farmers will use intertillage

In what ways does the environment shape agriculture?

the entire idea of "environmental determinism;" irrigation and greenhouses have made the environment less of a factor and has made agriculture more based on possibilism in MDCs

What is dairying?

the production of milk and milk-based products such as cheese and butter

What are some features of commercial grain farming?

wheat, corn, barley, oats and millet are main crops grown; cultivated in breadbasket regions of US, Canada, Argentina, Russia, Australia, France, England and the Ukraine; highly mechanized with tractors, reapers, fertilizers and pesticides; the US exports the most grain