Human Geography

Unit 5: Agriculture

What are the four sectors of

economic activity?

Primary Sector Secondary Sector

Tertiary Sector Quaternary Sector

What sector does the President of the United

States work in?

The Size of SectorsCountry Primary Secondary Tertiary

China 38% 46.9% 43%

Iran 25% 31% 45%

Mexico 13.7% 23.4% 62.9%

Nigeria 70% 10% 20%

Russia 10% 31.9% 58.1%

United Kingdom 1.4% 18.2% 80.4%

United States .7% 20.3% 79%

What assumptions can be made from this

graph?

What is agriculture?

Agriculture is the deliberate tending of crops and livestock in order to produce food and

fiber.

The History of Agriculture

Hunters and Gatherers

First Agricultural Revolution(8000BCE)

Second Agricultural Revolution (1600s)

Third Agricultural Revolution (Later

20th Century)

Hunters and Gatherers

• Followed game and seasonal plants.

• Left little imprint on the land.

• Two Major Migrations:

– Eastern Africa to Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia

– Asia across the land bridge to the Americas

The Neolithic Revolution

What is the Neolithic revolution?

The Neolithic Revolution was the drastic changes that

occurred when people began to cultivate crops and domesticate animals.

The Neolithic

Revolution

Increase in Reliable Food

Supply

Rapid Increase in

Human Population

Job Specialization

Larger Gender Differences (Patriarchal)

A divide between

nomads and settled people

What is the difference between seed planting and vegetative planting?

Seed planting is the production of plants through the planting of seeds where vegetative planting is where new plants are created from

existing plants.

Vegetative Planting

Origin and Diffusion of Vegetative Planting

Vegetative planting probably started in Southeast Asia with crops such as the Taro and Yam as well as the banana and palm. The first domesticated animals were dogs, pigs, and chickens.

Origin and Diffusion of Vegetative Planting

Other hearths were West Africa and South America.

Why would vegetative planting happen

before seed planting?

Seed Planting

What caused seed planting to become more available?

Irrigation

Plowing

Fencing

Terraced Farming

Fertilizing

Origin and Diffusion of Seed Agriculture

Western IndiaNorthern China

(Millet)

Ethiopia

(Millet and Sorghum

Southwest Asia

(Rice)

Eastern Hemisphere

Origin and Diffusion of Seed Agriculture

Southwest Asia

EuropeNorthwest

Africa

Origin and Diffusion of Seed Agriculture

Northern Peru

(Squash, Beans, Cotton)

Southern Mexico

(Squash, Maize, Potatoes)

Western Hemisphere

What is the Columbian Exchange?

The Columbian Exchange is when products began to be

exchanged between the western and eastern

hemispheres.

What is an example of where a crop in the western hemisphere became important in the eastern

hemisphere?

The Second Agricultural Revolution

What is the Second Agricultural Revolution?

The Second Agricultural Revolution began in Western

Europe in the 1600s. It intensified agriculture and promoted higher yield per

acre.

What were some innovations seen during the Second Agricultural Revolution?

EnclosureCrop

Rotation

Jethro Tull’sSeed Drill

Industrial Revolution

Refrigeration

Fertilizers, Weed Killers,

Pesticides

Major Agricultural Production Regions

What are the differences between subsistence and commercial agriculture?

Subsistence Agriculture is most prevelant in LDCs and

produces no surplus. Commercial Agriculture is the production of surpluses with

the intention to sell.

Differences

Subsistence Commercial

Low percentage of farmers.

Use Mechanized Tools

Huge Farm Sizes

Higher percentage of farmers.

Use Hand Tools

Small Farm Size

Subsistence Farming: Subregions

Intensive Subsistence

Yields Large Amounts of Output Per

Acre

Found in Large Population

Concentrations: East and South

Asia

Dominated by Wet or Lowland

Rice

Labor Intensive: Large number of people, low

capital

Shifting Cultivation

“Slash and Burn” Agriculture

Found in Rain Forest Zones: Central and South

America, West Africa, Eastern and Central Asia,

Southern China, Southeast Asia

Involves farming large plots of land until nutrients are

depleted and then moving on.

Involves Intertillage:

Growing Various Types of Crops

Major Crops: Millet, Sorghum,

Rice, Manioc, Sweet Potatoes,

Yams, Beans

Pastoral Nomadism

Nomadism: The practice of

moving frequently from

one place to another

Herders follow their herds from

pasture to pasture.

Central Eurasia, Arabian

Peninsula, Sudan, North Scandanavia

Sheep, Goats, Camels, Cattle,

Horses, Yaks

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

Extensive Subsistence Agriculture

Commercial Agriculture: Subregions

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

Most Common

Form in the US east of

Appalachians

Farmers grow crops and

raise livestock on the same

land

Most money comes from the sale of

animal products.

Most practice

Crop Rotation

Dairy Farming

Located in areas outside

of urban locations.

Produce Milk,

Butter Cheese

Labor Intensive

and Expensive

What is a milkshed?

A Milkshed is the ring of milk production that surrounds a

major city.

Cincinnati Milkshed

GrainFarming

Production is largely

mechanized

US produces the most

grain in the world.

Labor is concentrated

in planting and harvesting

times.

Grain Farming Locations

• Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma

• Planted in the Autumn, Ripens in the Summer

The United States: Winter Wheat

• Palouse Region of Washington, the Dakotas and Montana

• Winters too severe for Winter Wheat

The United States: Spring Wheat

• Canada, Australia, Argentina, France, and the United Kingdom

Other Countries

Livestock Ranching

Def: The commercial grazing of

livestock over an extensive

area.

Often practiced in arid or semi-

arid regions

Includes much of the Western

US, and the Pampas (prairie)

of Argentina

Mediterranean Agriculture

Def: Agriculture located on

Western coasts, with mild

winters and dry summers.

Grown through horticulture (growing of

fruits, vegetables and

flowers)

Olives, Grapes, Fruits,

Vegetables

Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming

Def: Agriculture that relies on

heavy equipment to grow bulk

amounts of fruit and vegetables

Also known as “truck farming” because truck

means to barter.

Located in Southeast US

Apples, Asparagus,

Cherries, Lettuce, Mushrooms,

Tomatoes, etc.

Plantation Farming

Def: Large farms that

specialize in one or two

crops.

Found in Latin America, Africa,

and Asia

Called “Cash Crops” because

they make money for their

owners.

Cotton, Sugarcane, Tobacco,

Coffee, Rubber

Rural Land Use and Settlement Patterns

What is a land-use model?

A Land Use Model shows the different ways that people use

the land that is available to them.

What is Von Thunen’s Model?

Von Thunen’s Model demonstrated the way that rural land use changed as a

person moved outward from the center of a city area.

Central City

1. Market Gardening and Dairy

2. Forest

3. Field Crops

4. Animal Grazing

• Nearest the town, farmers raised perishable products such as garden vegetables and milk.

Market Gardening and Dairy

• Towns from Von Thunen’s Day were surrounded by a ring of trees used for construction.

Forest

• Crops that are less perishable.

Field Crops

• Required a lot of space.

Animal Grazing

• Transporation costs became to high for profitability.

Outside of these rings:

Thunen’sModel

Assumed

Flat Terrain

Uniform SoilNo significant

barriers to transportation

Long Term Observations of Thunen’sModel

• His model is still applicable to Organic Food Growth.

• His model is applicable for understanding Broad Patterns of rural land use.

– Farmers in areas away from major markets are less likely to grow perishable items.

Patterns of Settlements

Rural Settlement Patterns:

• Dispersed Settlement: Individuals living in farms that lie far apart from one another.

• Nucleated Settlement: Villages located close together with relatively small agricultural fields.

– Hamlets: Small clusters of buildings

– Villages: Slightly Larger buildings.

Building Materials

Wood

Brick

StoneGrass and

Bush

Wattle

Village Types

Land Ownership and Survey Techniques

• A practice where all land falls to the eldest son.

• This results in land parcels that are large and controlled individually.

Primogeniture

• Used in the US to encourage settlers to disperse evenly across the Midwest.

Rectangular Survey System

• Natural Features are used to mark irregular parcels of land.

• Used on the US East Coast

Metes and Bounds System

• Divides land into narrow parcels that extend from rivers, roads or canals.

• One example are plantation plots of old Southern plantations.

Long-Lot Survey System

Commercial Agriculture

History

Modern commercial agriculture through mercantillism.

Mercantillism: Private companies were given charters by the crown to conduct trade.

The Third Agricultural Revolution

• Began in the late 20th century.

• Characterized by the industrialization of agriculture, biotechnology, and the Green Revolution.

What is a the green revolution?

The Green Revolution involved the practice of using

higher yield seeds and expanded use of fertilizers to

increase production.

Praise

• Agriculture now outpaces population.

• Nitrogen-based fertilizers increase farm productivity.

• Scientists continue to invent new food sources.

• Higher productivity reduces dependency on imports in places such as China and India

• New Irrigation have increased crop yields.

• Agribusiness has increased the productivity of cash crops

Criticism

• Poor countries cannot afford the machinery

• Farmers in poor countries cannot afford the fertilizers – which also can lead to groundwater pollution.

• Many fishing areas are over-fished.

• In Sub-Saharan Africa, population is still growing faster than food.

• Irrigation has led to serious groundwater depletion.

• Agribusiness means that land is devoted to raising one crop.

Impacts

Erosion

Changes in the Soil Content

Depletion of Natural Vegetation

Chemicals in ground

Water

Future Food

Expansion of Land

Increase in Productivity

New Food Sources

Improved Distribution