AP Human Geography; Agriculture

Slash-and-Burn

Definition: Another name for shifting cultivation, so named because fields are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burning the debris. Example: RUINS SOIL-VERY BAD

Mixed Crop/Livestock Farming

Definition: Both animal and crops are farmed in the same area. Example: Raising cows and plating corn

Agribusiness

Definition: Commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations. Example: Tyson Chicken or Smithfield Pork

Truck Farming

Definition: Commercial gardening and fruit farming, so named because truck was a Middle English word meaning bartering or the exchange of commodities. Example: Crops may now be transported a lot further than previously done.

Desertification

Definition: Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting. Example: Slash and Burn promotes desertification

Double Cropping

Definition: Harvesting twice a year from the same field. Example: Winter Wheat is grown in addition to normal crop rotation

Genetically Modified Orangisms

Definition: Oraginsms whose genetic material has been modified for increased agriculture product. Example: Strawberry/Fish

Organic Farming

Definition: Plants grown without green technology Ex: Compost

Green Revolution

Definition: Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers. Example: Modern agricultural techniques spread in the '70s and '80s is known as the Green revolution. Chemically engineered crops.

Milk shed

Definition: The area surrounding a city from which milk is supplied. Example: A milkshed could be 100 miles around a city.

Horticulture

Definition: The growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Example: Lots of Horticulture in the Mediterranean Region

Crop Rotation

Definition: The practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each year, to avoid exhausting the soil. Example: Feild A grows x crop one year, y crop the next year, z crop the year after that, and then goes back to x crop once the cycle has restarted.

Transhumance

Definition: The seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures. Example: Commonly seen in the UK

Extensive Farming Practices

Definition: agricultural production system that uses small inputs of labor, fertilizers, and capital, relative to the land area being farmed. Example: Sheep and Cattle Farming

Deforestation

Definition: clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale, often resulting in damage to the quality of the land. Example: Clearing of a whole forest

Pesticide

Definition:toxic substances released intentionally into our environment to kill living things Example: fungi and rodents

Commercial Agriculture

Definition: Agriculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the farm. Example:Tyson farms

Pastoral Nomadism

Definition: A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals. Example: Camel Herders

Intensive Subsistence Farming

Definition: A form of subsistence agriculture in which farmers must expend a relatively large amount of effort to produce the maximum feasible yield from a parcel of land. Example: Families in LDCs must undergo intensive subsistence agricultural practices in order to provide for themselves.

Shifting Cultivation

Definition: A form of subsistence agriculture in which people shift activity from one field to another; each field is used for crops for relatively few years and left fallow for a relatively long period. Example: Feild Rotation

Plantation

Definition: A large farm in tropical and subtropical climates that specializes in the production of one or two crops for sale, usually to a more developed country. Example: Sugar Cane plantation grows more than sugar.

Herbicide

Definition: A substance that is toxic to plants and is used to destroy unwanted vegetation. Example: Weed killer

Fair Trade

Definition: A trade in which the value is equal Example: Trading 10 pounds of corn and 10 pounds of soybeans

Subsistence Agriculture

Definition: Agriculture designed primarily to provide food for direct consumption by the farmer and the farmer's family Example: Family in LDC

Agriculture

definition: The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain. Example: Growing Crops.