Agriculture

1. Agriculture Crystal Gray Shaundra Wood Falandus Davidson

2. 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 Commercial Subsistence

3. Subsistence vs. Commercial Subsistence 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 • 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

4. Agriculture in LDCs Agriculture in MDCs

5. 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)

6. 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.

7. 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)

8. 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

10. 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