Unit 5: Agriculture & Rural Land-Use Patterns & Processes

Central America

Pepper, potato, alpaca, cotton, maize, sweet potato

What are three characteristics of extensive farming practices?

Agriculture practices require less labor, technology, and money to produce food.

Township & Range

A system of dividing large parcels of land evenly across farmlands. (Traditionally from a center point).

How did the Agricultural revolutions help diffuse different species of animals and plants around the globe?

As society continued to advance and technology grew we were able to trade more with other societies. During the second agricultural revolution we saw new inventions that made it possible for us to bring food/ livestock farther and more efficiently, i.e. steam engines. During the green revolution new agricultural techniques were practiced around the world allowing new strains of crops to be produced reducing food shortages.

Fertile Crescent

Barley, wheat, pigs, cattle, oats, goat

How does the bid-rent theory impact the location of different types of agriculture?

By analyzing the amount of land needed and the cost of transporting the goods to the market. Farmers will grow crops that require more land with cheaper transportation costs farther away from the city.

Mixed Crop/ livestock (intensive)

Central Europe, & the Midwest in the United States of America Corn, soybeans, beef, eggs, milk, & pork. Crops & livestock are integrated. Crops are fed to animals, animals supply manure to improve the soil, the majority of farmers income comes from the sale of animals.

Southeast Asia

Coconut, mango, with rice and millet being developed in East Asia

How did the Columbian Exchange impact life in the old world?

Crops like the potato became a main part of many Europeans diets, this allowed for a population boom because the potato plants produced more food per acre. Other crops like corn, tomatoes, squash, and more also came over to the old world as well.

Identify a positive and negative consequence the green revolution had on the environment.

Food can be produced in a smaller geographical area, with more foods being able to handle harsh environments. More pollution to the environment due to the industrial system, including more inefficiencies with the use of resources. Also possible animal rights abuses, due to the mass production of food.

How did the green revolution change the production of food?

Food production increased due to a shift to industrial farming, this allowed for food production to out pace population growth.

Explain how the physical environment can influence the type of agriculture practiced in a location.

In places with a dry air climate, farmers are forced to practice pastoral nomadism due to lack of arable land. In places with a longer growing season and a mild climate we see horticulture more popular. In regions with more access to arable lands we see more sedentary agriculture practiced.

Identify a positive and negative consequence the green revolution had on human populations.

Increase in food production & globalization, which allowed for more trade of food. Decrease in family farms & possible increase in food contamination.

Why are more farmers switching to monocropping over monoculture?

It allows farmers to specialize more and continue to produce large amounts of food while reducing their overhead costs.

How does agriculture impact rural land-use patterns?

Large farms can stretch across the landscape, which may have farms focus on the production of a few crops. Depending on the survey method used, we may see more variety of agricultural products produced, and land being utilized in a variety of ways with the fragmentation of land.

Economic (Impact from the 2nd agriculture revolution)

Less farmers were needed to produce food, which allowed for more citizens to be able to work in other industries. This caused a rise of urbanization which led to new jobs, products, and production moving from the household to the assembly line.

Social (Impact from the 2nd agriculture revolution)

Many people left their rural lifestyles and moved to urban areas. Families spent more time working in factories and in the city. This caused overcrowding challenges in cities and concerns for worker rights.

Health (Impact from the 2nd agriculture revolution)

New cities become overcrowded, which led to the diffusion of new diseases due to poor sanitation, cramped living conditions, and lack of knowledge on healthcare. Work conditions also lacked safety measures to protect workers.

How did the Columbian Exchange impact life in the new world?

New diseases were brought to the new world, which decimated many populations. There was also the introduction of horses, cows, sugar cane and other foods/livestock which changed life in the new world.

green revolution

New inventions rapidly diffused throughout society allowing new productive agricultural techniques to be used. The most popular was the introduction of new higher-yield seeds and expanded use of fertilizers.

Metes and Bounds

Parcels of land where the metes are the lines and bounds describe geographic features of the land.

Shifting Cultivation (extensive)

Southeast Asia, South America,& sub-Saharan Africa Rice, maize, millet, sorghum, & cassava Farmers clear land for planting, farms grow crops on the cleared land, after nutrients are depleted the land is left to fallow.

Market Gardening (intensive)

Southeastern United States & Southeastern Australia Apples, asparagus, cherries, lettuce, mushrooms, & tomatoes Long growing season & a humid climate. Most of the food is processed, canned, or frozen, & sent out to the markets on trucks.

Nomadic Herding (extensive)

Southwest Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, & East Asia Sheep, goats, camels, & horses (obtain grain through trade) Farmers migrate with their animals across the landscape.

Explain the difference between subsistence and commercial agriculture.

Subsistence farming focuses on production of food for the family, while commercial is for profit agriculture.

What historical event caused the second agricultural revolution?

The Industrial Revolution

What are three characteristics of intensive farming practices?

They require a large amount of labor, technology, and money to produce food.

Explain what the enclosure movement is and how it impacted food production.

This happened in England when small farms were consolidated into larger farms. This allowed for more output of food and pushed people to urban areas. This equaled more food for society and a population boom for society.

Plantation (intensive)

Tropical & subtropical Africa, South Asia, & Southeast Asia Cotton, sugarcane, coffee, rubber, tobacco, bananas, tea, coconuts, & palm oil Large commercial farms in developing countries focus on one or two crops. Owned by companies in developed countries, products are sent to the MDCs from the plantation.

Indus River Valley

Walnut, sheep, broad bean

Ranching (extensive)

Western North America, Southeast Latin America, Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, & South Pacific Cattle, sheep, & goat Originally ranching was focused on free range herding of animals. Today more ranchers have shifted to closed fields, or in places like the United States CAFOS and industrial systems.

Long lot

When land is divided into narrow parcels that stretch along a waterway or road.