Agricultural Regions The following map displays a more specific representation

of agricultural regions. It shows (through numbers) when

other types of agriculture are practiced within a region

where another type predominates (color).

The regions to be mapped are “generalized” meaning they

should be color-coded based on the predominant type of

agriculture practiced within the region.

For purposes of AP Human Geography it is more important

to understand the generalized version. A blank copy is

provided under a separate attachment. You should color

code that map as you read the following slides. You will be

required to understand this distribution.

World Agriculture

Agriculture (terms to know)

• Subsistence: production of food primarily

for the family (mostly in LDCs).

• Commercial: production of food primarily for

sale off of the farm (MDCs and some LDCs).

• Extensive agriculture: requires limited input

of labor or is spread across a large area of

land or both.

• Intensive agriculture: requires lots of labor

or is focused on a small plot of land or both.

Agricultural

Regions in

LDCs

Shifting cultivation

– occupies largest land area of all agricultural activities

• 25% of world’s land area, only 5% of people (low populations)

• Land usually not owned individually

• Amount of land (dedicated to shifting agriculture) is declining

– Replaced by logging, ranching, cash crops → development

» Destruction of rainforests, ↑ global warming

– Most prevalent in low-latitude, humid climates

• High temperature, abundant rainfall

– Two features:

• Land is cleared by slashing and burning debris

– Creating a “swidden”, “lading”, “milpa”, etc.

– Work done by hand, only fertilizer = potash

– “Slash-and-burn” agriculture

• Land is tended for only a few (≤ 3) years at a time

– Loses fertility quickly due to leaching etc.

– Types of crops grown vary regionally

Pastoral

nomadism

– herding of domesticated animals

• animals are seldom eaten

– obtain grain from sedentary farmers in exchange for animal

products or from small fixed plots tended by women

• size of the herd indicates power and prestige

• type of animal depends on the region

– For example, camels are favored in North Africa and SW Asia

– primarily in arid/semiarid B-type climates = “marginal” lands

– Movement is NOT random = strong territoriality

• Migration patterns evolve from knowledge of the land

• Transhumance practiced by some pastoralists

– Seasonal shift between low and high altitude grazing

– Now in decline

• No longer needed as carriers of goods/info

• Governments want land for other uses

Intensive subsistence

– areas with high population (esp. in E, S and SE Asia)

– high agricultural densities

• Many farmers, small plots (fragmented), little mechanization

• To maximize production, little land is wasted

– single path roads, little animal grazing

– Two types (depends on climate)

• Intensive with wet rice dominant (yellow on map)

– Rice = most important source of food in Asia

– Several step process involving planting seedlings in a flooded field

» “sawah”, “paddy”

» Need FLAT land → terracing hillsides

– Double-cropping (2 harvests (rice/dry grain) per year if warm winters)

• Intensive with wet rice not dominant (orange on map)

– Drier, harsher winters

– Grains (1) wheat, (2) barley, millet, corn, soybeans, etc.

– Use crop rotation to avoid exhausting soil

Plantation farming

• Found in Latin America, Africa, and Asia

• Form of commercial farming usually found in LDCs

– grown in LDCs but typically sold to MDCs

– From periphery to core!!!

• Plantations specialize in one or two “cash crops”

– Often “luxury crops” = coffee, tea, sugarcane, cotton,

rubber, and tobacco

• Usually found in sparsely occupied areas

– large labor force is usually imported and housed

– Once dominated American south

Agricultural

Regions in

MDCs

Mixed crop and livestock farming

– Locations?

• N. America between Appalachians and w. of Mississippi

– Iowa = center of the “Corn Belt”

• Europe between France and Russia

• Japan? Transvaal (“Boers” = farmers in Dutch)

– integration of crops and livestock

• most land = devoted to crops

– (1) corn (2) soybeans

– But used to feed livestock, livestock provide fertilizer

• most profits = derive from sale of livestock

• allows distribution of work throughout year

• evens seasonal variations in income

– Crop rotation used (different crops use different nutrients

or replenish, NO fields left fallow)

Dairy farming

– Regional distribution:

• Not traditionally consumed

• arose with urbanization and rising incomes in MDCs

– Closest ring outside large cities = the “milkshed”

» Highly perishable = requires proximity to market

» Improvements to transport allowed expansion of milkshed

» Farms farther from market = dairy products ≠ milk

• Now a majority produced in LDCs (India is #1)

– Two primary challenges cause lack of profitability

• Labor-intensive

– Must be milked 2x daily, even with machines, dairying requires

constant attention

• Expense of winter feed

– Need to feed milk cows during winter

Grain farming

– for human consumption rather than animal feed

• LDCS = crop is directly consumed (subsistence)

• MDCs = crop sold to food product manufacturers

– Wheat is world’s leading export crop

» ½ of exports from US/Canada = “world’s breadbasket”

» → flour → bread

» Easily stored/transported

– The largest commercial producer of grains = the U.S.

• Winter-wheat belt = KS, CO, OK = survives milder winter

• Spring-wheat belt = Dakotas, Montana, Saskatchewan

– Other areas

• Pampas (SE South America in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil), Ukraine,

Russia steppe, Australia

– Areas too dry for mixed crop and livestock

– Heavily mechanized (reaper, combine), large farms

– Workload not uniform, may spilt between farms in two

different belts.

Livestock ranching

– Extensive in MDCs

• Cattle driven north to RRs → slaughtered in Chicago and processed by meatpackers → shipped to east coast consumers

• came into conflict with sedentary farming = range wars

• farmers win with barbed wire = cattle ranchers forced onto marginal

(dry) environments in MDCs

– With better irrigation more land now farmed

• Farmer has higher return, ranching has lower costs

• Cattle now frequently sent to “fattening” or feed lot farms (CAFOs

“concentrated animal feeding operations”) along major highways or

railroads.

• Now part of the meat-processing industry rather than independent

agricultural activity

– Ranching in Australia (sheep), Europe (Spain/Portugal),

Pampas (Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil = the Pampas)

• Follows similar pattern of isolation and decline due to competition for

land with sedentary farming around the world

Mediterranean agriculture

– primarily on western coasts of land masses,

• Along Mediterranean coast, California, Chile, South Africa and SW

Australia

– requires a particular climate and terrain

• Prevailing sea winds provide limited moisture, moderate winter

temperatures, summers are hot and dry with some relief from sea

breezes

• Terrain is hilly, very narrow bands of flat land along coast

– Small % of revenue from animal products

• transhumance

– Mostly products for human consumption

• Horticulture: the growing of fruits, vegetables and flowers

• Mediterranean = Olives (cooking oil), grapes (wine), etc.

– ½ land devoted to growing wheat for pasta

• California = citrus fruits, tree nuts, deciduous fruits

– Competition for prime agricultural land from cities

– Dry lands require massive irrigation

Commercial gardening and fruit farming

– aka Truck farms = “truck” = “bartering/exchange”

• Predominant in SE USA

– Long growing season

– access to large markets of east coast

– Fresh produce for groceries, farmer’s markets

• Products for consumers in MDCs

– Apples, asparagus, cherries, lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes

– Some fresh some canned

– Large-scale mechanized operations

• Reduce labor costs by hiring migrant farm (undocumented) workers

– Specialty farming spread to NE as alternative to dairying

• Supplies wealthy customers with specialty products