Subsistence Farming

mixed crop and livestock farming

-most land is devoted to crops -use of crop rotation -most profits are derived from the livestock -more time requited for raising animals

dairy farming

-regional distribution -milkshed- ring around the city milk can be supplied without spoiling

layer 3

-ring of trees to provide building materials and firewood (forestry) -located close for easy transportation

corporate factory farms (agriculture in MDCs)

-suitcase farmers- crop based farms where farmer lives outside community except during planting and harvesting season -less likely to maintain sensitive land management -mega-farms -monoculture (single crop)- crops for sale off site -chemical fertilizers and hormones

Pastoral Nomaism

-the breeding and herding of domesticated animals for subsistence -arid and semi-arid areas of North America, Middle east, Central Asia

grain farming

-the largest commercial producer of grain is the US -winter- wheat belt -spring-wheat belt

layer 1

-the urban center/ market -at the heart of the model is the city, where the people live and work -primarily where agricultural products are brought to be sold

green revolution

-third agriculture revolution -1960 to now -dramatically increase crop yields -GMO/GMC -internal combustion engine (tractor) -pesticides -fertilizers

rectangular survey system

-township and range -"checker boards" are very common in the heartland of the US

shifting cultivation

-vegetation slashed and than burned. soil remains fertile for 2-3 years. Then people move on -tropical rainforest, Amazon, Central and West Africa, Southeast Asia

intensive subsistence agriculture

-wet rice dominant-> human labor -southeast Asia, East India, Southeast China

crop rotation

The practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each year, to avoid exhausting the soil.

transhumance

The seasoned migration of livestock between mountains and low land pastures.

layer 4

grains and field crops -large scale farms that allow for grain production and large herds of animals

Metes and bounds

long lots system -the farmlands all have access to the water

double cropping

Harvesting twice a year from the same field.

quaternary economic activity

service sector industries concerned with the collection, processing, and manipulation of information and capital (finance, administration, insurance, legal services)

Von Thunen's Model of Agricultural Land Use

(1826) -predicts the location of farming/ agricultural activity -5 layers

layer 5

-extensive ranching and grazing -large open areas where animals can freely roam -transportation a non-factor since animals are self-transporting and can walk to market or easily be moved

food production in MDCs

-food more likely to be processed and have added preservatives -bigger variety and less seasonal

truck farms

-growing one of more vegetable crops on a large scale for shipment to distant markets

layer 2

-horticulture and dairy farming -the growing of fruits, vegetables and flowers -dairy farming is done close enough to transport milk to market without spoiling

mediterranean agriculture

-hot dry summers, cool wet winters -California, Italy, Chile, Argentina, South Africa -based on horticulture

agricultural practices in MDCs

-mixed crops and livestock farming -dairy farming -grain farming -livestock ranching

agribusiness

Commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations.

feedlot

an area or building where livestock are fed and fattened up.

tertiary economic activity

economic activity associated with the provision for services (transportation, banking, retailing, education, routine, office-based jobs)

primary economic activity

economic activity concerned with the direct extraction of natural resources from the environment; such as mining, fishing, lumbering, and especially agriculture

secondary economic activity

economic activity involving the processing of raw materials and their transformation into finished industrial products; the manufacturing sector

subsistence farming

farmers who only harvest enough to survive (direct consumption)

livestock ranching

practiced in marginal environments -low potential for cultivation of crops -soil quality and unpredictable weather

cadastral system

property broken up into smaller units

desertification

the gradual transformation of habitable land into desert