chapter 10: agriculture
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Chapter 10: Agriculture. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography. Where Did Agriculture Originate?. Origins of agriculture Agriculture = deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through the cultivation of plants and/or rearing of animals Cultivate = “to care for” - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Chapter 10: Agriculture
The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Where Did Agriculture Originate?
• Origins of agriculture– Agriculture = deliberate modification of
Earth’s surface through the cultivation of plants and/or rearing of animals
– Cultivate = “to care for”– Crop = any plant cultivated by people
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Where Did Agriculture Originate?
• Origins of agriculture– Hunter-gatherers
• Perhaps 250,000 remaining today
– Invention of agriculture• When it began = unclear• Diffused from many hearths
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Crop Hearths
Figure 10-2
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Animal Hearths
Figure 10-3
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Where Did Agriculture Originate?
• Commercial and subsistence agriculture– Subsistence = produced mainly for the
farm family’s survival• Most common in LDCs
– Commercial = produced mainly for sale off the farm
• Most common in MDCs
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Agriculture and Climate
Figure 10-4
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Where Did Agriculture Originate?
• Commercial and subsistence agriculture– Five characteristics distinguish commercial
from subsistence agriculture• Purpose of farming• Percentage of farmers in the labor force• Use of machinery • Farm size• Relationship of farming to other businesses
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Second Agriculture RevolutionSecond Agriculture Revolution• A series of innovations, and techniques used to
improve the output of agricultural surpluses (started before the industrial revolution). eg. – seed drill– new crops-potatoes & corn– advances in livestock breeding– new soil preparation methods & new fertilizers
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Agricultural Workers
Figure 10-5
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Area of Farmland Per Tractor
Figure 10-6
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Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs?
• Shifting cultivation– Most prevalent in low-latitude, A-type
climates– Two features:
• Land is cleared by slashing and burning debris– Slash-and-burn agriculture
• Land is tended for only a few years at a time
– Types of crops grown vary regionally– Traditionally, land is not owned individually
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Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs?
• Pastoral nomadism (herding domesticated animals)
– Found primarily in arid and semiarid B-type climates
– Animals are seldom eaten• The size of the herd indicates power and prestige
– Type of animal depends on the region• For example, camels are favored in North Africa and
Southwest Asia
– Transhumance practiced by some pastoral nomads
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Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs?
• Intensive subsistence– Found in areas with high population and
agricultural densities• Especially in East, South, and Southeast Asia • To maximize production, little to no land is
wasted
– Intensive with wet rice dominant– Intensive with wet rice not dominant
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Rice Production
Figure 10-12
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Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs?
• Plantation farming– Found in Latin America, Africa, and Asia– Products are grown in LDCs but typically
are sold to MDCs– Plantations specialize in one or two cash
crops• Important crops = coffee, sugarcane, cotton,
rubber, and tobacco
– A large labor force is usually needed in sparsely settled regions
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Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs?
• Mixed crop and livestock farming– Most land = devoted to crops– Most profits = derive from the livestock
• Dairy farming– Regional distribution: the milkshed– Two primary challenges
• Labor-intensive• Expense of winter feed
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Corn (Maize) Production
Figure 10-15
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Milk Production
Figure 10-17
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Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs?
• Grain farming– The largest commercial producer of grain = the
United States
• Livestock ranching– Practiced in marginal environments
• Mediterranean agriculture– Based on horticulture
• Commercial gardening and fruit farming– Truck farms
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Wheat Production
Figure 10-19
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Meat Production
Figure 10-21
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Von Thünen ModelVon Thünen Model
• Von Thünen Model – What farmers
produce varies by distance from the town, with livestock raising farthest from town.
– Cost of transportation governs use of land.
– First effort to analyze the spatial character of economic activity.
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Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?
• Challenges for commercial farmers– Access to markets is important
• The von Thünen model (1826)– The choice of crop to grow is related to the proximity to
the market
Figure 10-24
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Von ThünenVon Thünen• Johann Heinrich von Thünen (1783-1850) wrote
Der Isolierte Staat (The Isolated State) which is the foundation of location theory.
• Noted how crops near Rostock, Germany changed with no change in soil-mapped the pattern
• With terrain, soils and rainfall the same he created the ringed-pattern
• Noted that transportation costs governed land use
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Von Thünen Von Thünen ModelModel
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Application of Von Thünen ModelApplication of Von Thünen Model
• Geographer Lee Liu studied the spatial pattern of agriculture production in China.Found:
- farmers living in a village farm both lands close to the village and far away intensively
- methods varied spatially – resulting in land improvement (by adding organic material) close to village and land degradation (lots of pesticides and fewer conservation tactics) farther from village.
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Third Agriculture RevolutionThird Agriculture Revolution(Green Revolution)(Green Revolution)
• invention of high-yield grains and rice, (goal to reduce hunger).
- increased production of rice
- new varieties in wheat and corn
- reduced famines due to crop failure,
now most famines are due to
political problems
- impact (in terms of hunger) is greatest
where rice is produced
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Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?
• Challenges for commercial farmers– Overproduction
• Agricultural efficiencies have resulted in overproduction
• Demand has remained relatively constant– As a consequence, incomes for farmers are low
– Sustainable agriculture• Sensitive land management• Integrated crop and livestock
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Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?
• Challenges for subsistence farmers– Population growth– International trade– Drug crops
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Drug Trade
Figure 10-27
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Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?
• Strategies to increase food supply– Expanding agricultural land
• Desertification
– Increasing productivity • The green revolution
– Identifying new food sources• Cultivating oceans, developing higher-protein
cereals, and improving palatability of foods
– Increasing trade
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Agricultural Land and Population
Figure 10-28
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Grain Imports and Exports
Figure 10-32
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The End.
Up next: Industry