Agriculture Chapter 11 Key Question What is Agriculture

Agriculture Chapter 11

Key Question: What is Agriculture and Where did Agriculture Begin?

Organic Agriculture • Organic Agriculture – The production of crops without the use of synthetic or industrially produced pesticides and fertilizers or the raising of livestock without hormones, antibiotics, and synthetic feeds. - sales of organic foods on the rise - grown everywhere - demand in wealthier countries

Organic Agriculture

Fair Trade Agriculture • Fair Trade Coffee – shade grown coffee produced by certified fair trade farmers, who then sell the coffee directly to coffee importers. - guarantees a “fair trade price” - over 500, 000 farmers - produced in more than 20 countries - often organically produced

Fair trade coffee farmer in El Salvador grows his beans organically and in the shade, allowing him to get a much better price for his coffee.

Agriculture – the purposeful tending of crops and raising of livestock in order to produce food and fiber.

Economic Activities • Primary economic activities products closest to the ground • Secondary economic activities Manufacturing of primary products into new products • Tertiary economic activities service industry – connecting producers to consumers to facilitate trade; increasing employ in MDCs • Quaternary economic activities Information or the exchange of goods, knowledge-based sectors (doctor, consultation, education, financial planning) • Quinary economic activites tied into research or higher education (government, science, universities, nonprofit, healthcare, culture, and the media).

Arable Land Percent Arable by Country Does the percent of land that is arable in a country determine the agricultural output or the calorie consumption in a country?

Desertification • type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change, human activities, overgrazing of pasture areas in arid climates.

Tuareg • The Tuareg people are about 2 million nomadic people who live across the Sahara Desert, including in the North African countries of Mali, Niger, Libya, Algeria and Chad. The Tuaregs are part of the Berber group of people, and they are largely Muslim. Pastoral nomads who migrate to the higher lands in the summer and the valleys in the winter.

The First Agricultural Revolution… Domestication of plants and Animals • first form of agriculture in human history---hunting and gathering • Where did plant domestication begin? South and Southeast Asia early domestication of root crops, up to 14, 000 years ago; planting roots and cuttings Southwest Asia (the Fertile Crescent) early domestication of seed crops, about 10, 000 years ago; Indian elephant used as a ceremonial animal, a beast of burden, and a weapon of war

The First Agricultural Revolution • first agriculturalists also hunter gatherers • Fishing also evolved around 12, 000 -15, 000 years ago • Metallurgy, the technique of separating metals, The earliest recorded metal employed by humans appears to be gold which can be found free or "native. " Small amounts of natural gold have been found in Spanish caves used during the late Paleolithic period, c. 40, 000 BC. Silver, copper, tin and meteoric iron can also be found in native form, allowing a limited amount of metalworking in early cultures.

World Areas of Agricultural Innovations Carl Sauer identified 11 areas where agricultural innovations occurred.

Chief Source Regions of Important Crop Plant Domestications

The First Agricultural Revolution • Where did animal domestication begin? Fertile Crescent began about 8, 000 years ago Animal domestication became possible when people became sedentary. The region of the world home to the most large animal domestications is Eurasia. Animals in Africa were difficult to domesticate because they resisted domestication but northeast Afr first to domesticate cattle, sheep, and goats

World Areas of Agricultural Innovations Carl Sauer identified 11 areas where agricultural innovations occurred.

The Fertile Crescent – Where the planned cultivation of seed crops began. - because of seed selection, plants got bigger over time - generated a surplus of wheat and barley - first integration of plant growing and animal raising (used crops to feed livestock, used livestock to help grow crops)

Animal Domestication – - Relatively few animals have been domesticated - Attempts at domestication continue, but most fail

Old World Advantages Old World Crops Wheats Oats Rice Rye New World Crops Corns Squash Beans Cotton

Old World Advantages Old World Animals New World Animals Food Cows Pigs Chicken Turkey Guinea Pig Burden/Labor Horse Ox Camel Donkey Alpaca (llama)

Old World Advantages Old World Diseases New World Diseases With a history of diseases comes a developed immunity. The exchange of these was deadly for the new world… Small Pox None of Influenza significance Yellow Fever

Old World Advantages Called the Columbian Exchange after Christopher Columbus: Products transferred from Old to New and New to Old worlds show that the Old world had distinct geographical advantages that may have fostered the more rapid advancement of the Old World in contrast to the New World.

Impacts of the First Agricultural Revolution • Domestication of plants and animals creates surplus food supply and Free time. • Surplus food and free time creates specialization. • Specialization creates economics & hierarchy • Hierarchy creates civilization • Civilization creates: Gov’t, religion, knowledge • First tools used by humans were simple clubs

Subsistence Agriculture • Subsistence Agriculture – Agriculture in which people grow only enough food to survive. - farmers often hold land in common - some are sedentary, and some practice shifting cultivation when controlling fire was significant majority of the world’s population that is involved in agriculture is involved in subsistence agriculture slash-and-burn (aka Swidden)—sustainable if the soil is allowed enough time to regenerate itself; depends on nutrient addition to the soil through the burning of vegetation; short fallow periods do not allow enough time for vegetation to grow in previously cultivated plots to provide adequate nutrients for the next season of cultivation; can have negative environmental impacts if the period of fallow is too short for proper nutrient regeneration; must move to another plot of land b/c soil has been depleted (not crop rotation)

Swidden (slash-and-burn) Agriculture • typical for tropical forests; associated with deforestation in Brazil, practiced sustainable indigenous people, uncommon in the temperate latitudes. • Sustainable in the past b/c of smaller populations; more available land; cultural adaptation/environmental adaptation. • Lower physiologic/nutritional/agricultural density.

21 st Century and Shifting Cultivation Decline • Technological advancements (e. g. , fertilizers, hybrid seeds, pesticides) increased yields, leads to sedentary farming (NOT just “Green Revolution”) • Expanding/growing population leads to less available land; higher physiologic/nutritional/agricultural density; reduced soil fertility owing to shortened fallow period • Commercial agriculture more profitable; efficient plantation/agribusiness/cash cropping/ranching • Competing land-use activities (e. g. , logging, corporate investment, other employment opportunities) at the expense of shifting cultivation, leads to environmental degradation • Government/environmental policy controls deforestation; restrictions on land rights or usage; limiting carbon dioxide emissions

World Regions of Primarily Subsistence Agriculture On this map, India and China are not shaded because farmers sell some produce at markets; farming occupies 70% of the population in India; in equatorial Africa and South America, subsistence farming allows little excess and thus little produce sold at markets.

Settling down in one place, a rising population, and the switch to agriculture are interrelated occurrences in human history. Hypothesize which of these three happened first, second, and third, and explain why.

Key Question: How did Agriculture Change with Industrialization?

Second Agriculture Revolution • A series of innovations, improvements, and techniques used to improve the output of agricultural surpluses (started before the industrial revolution). – eg. seed drill advances in livestock breeding new fertilizers Three Field system Mechanization

Second Agriculture Revolution • Impacts of the Second Ag Rev: • • Increased food production… First in Europe Coincided with the Industrial Revolution Spurred rapid urbanization Created a huge population explosion (Demographic Transition stage 2) • common cause of decreasing farmland in rapidly growing urban areas---urban sprawl • Malthus hypothesized that the earth would eventually fail to produce enough food for population

Third Agriculture Revolution (Green Revolution… 1943 -1970’s) • invention of high-yield grains, especially rice, with goal of reducing 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

Third Agricultural Revolution • Norman Borlaug: American biologist, humanitarian and Nobel laureate who has been called "the father of the Green Revolution“ • took up an agricultural research position in Mexico, where he developed semi-dwarf, highyield, disease-resistant wheat varieties • Borlaug led the introduction of these high-yielding varieties combined with modern agricultural production techniques to Mexico, Pakistan, and India

Average Daily Calorie Consumption per Capita

Opposition to Green Revolution • Opposition argues Green Revolution has led to: – vulnerability to pests – Soil erosion – Water shortages – Micronutrient deficiencies – Dependency on chemicals for production – Loss of control over seeds

Year Round Rice Production – - lands that used to be used for family subsistence are now used for commercialized farming with revenues going to the men. - women do the work of rice production and see little of the benefit because of the power relations in Gambia

Wheat Production

GMO’s • Last part of the 3 rd Agricultural Revolution • DNA changed to change the plant’s properties • engineered to possess several desirable traits, including resistance to pests, herbicides, or harsh environmental conditions; improved product shelf life, and increased nutritional value

GMO’s • Generally by the core for the core • OPPOSITION? ? ? – Strong in Western Europe – Concerned about seed saving and cultural preservation – Health concerns

Hybridization Problems The hybridization process that lent itself to the claims of a new era has had several detrimental effects. Hybridization occurs when genetically dissimilar varieties or species are crossed to produce an offspring. This offspring carries with it the traits of its parents, but also exhibits what is known as “hybrid vigor”. That is, the offspring tends to be larger, faster growing, and healthier than its parental stock. The one major downfall, however, is that the offspring of these plants and animals tend to be sterile. What this has meant for the Green Revolution is that farmers whom once relied on saving and sharing seed from season to season are now forced into buying new hybridized seed each year.

Another drawback to these new varieties of crops is their reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides to ensure the success of a harvest. Many farmers, especially in Africa, have also adopted “slash and burn” methods of preparing their farm land for each year’s planting. This process continually denies the return of organic matter to the nature cycle—the very essence of soil structure. As this depletion of organic matter has taken its toll, farmers have resorted to purchasing and applying greater quantities of chemicals to make up the difference. When these farmers, especially in developing countries, have been faced with these issues (the need for annually purchased seed, and the purchasing of chemicals) many have found themselves caught in a cycle of dependency that has actually left them worse off than before the Green Revolution took hold.

Regional and Local Change Geographer Judith Carney finds that changing agricultural practices alter the rural environment and economy and also relations between men and women. In Gambia, international development projects have converted wetlands into irrigated agricultural lands, in order to make production of rice year round.

– What farmers produce varies by distance from the town, with livestock raising farthest from town. Intensive ag closer to market, greater profits – Cost of transportation governs use of land. – First effort to analyze the spatial character of economic activity. – Land values decrease farther from the urban center; extensive ag, less profit Von Thunen Model

Cattle According to Von Thunen, the land will be farmed most extensively for cattle Three of the largest dairy regions in the US are in the Northeast (NY and Pa), the Upper Midwest (Ws and Mn), and Ca b/c large urban centers are located in each zone.

Cattle and Climate

Von Thunen and Cattle Culture

Cattle Around the World

Livestock Ranching • Ranching is the practice of raising herds of animals on large tracts of land. Ranchers commonly raise grazing animals such as cattle and sheep. Some ranchers also raise elk, bison, ostriches, emus, and alpacas. The ranching and livestock industry is growing faster than any other agricultural sector in the world • Ranching is common in temperate, dry areas, such as the Pampas region of South America, the western United States, the Prairie Provinces of Canada, and the Australian Outback. In these regions, grazing animals are able to roam over large areas.

Livestock Fattening • Intensified feeding of animals to obtain the greatest quantity of high-quality meat. Cattle, swine, sheep, poultry, and rabbits are fattened. The quality of the meat and the economic indexes of the fattening of livestock depend on the species, breed, sex, age, health, and fatness of the animal. Best results are achieved by fattening specialized meat breeds and hybrids obtained from commercial crossbreeding. Animals that are fattened include the entire healthy population to be slaughtered for meat, the young remaining after completion of the basic herd composition, and adult animals discarded from the basic herd. • Primary difference between livestock ranching and livestock fattening livestock ranching requires more space than livestock fattening.

Application of Von Thunen 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.

Intensive Agriculture • requires a lot of labor, focuses on a small plot of land, or both • Mono agriculture---farming exclusively one crop • Double-Cropping/Triple-Cropping: raise 2/3 consecutive crops on the same land within a single growing season; allows farmers to meet the demands of ever-increasing populations.

Genetically engineered crops are yielding some ethical problems. In the semi-periphery, farmers typically keep seeds from crops so that they can plant the seeds the next year. Companies that produce genetically engineered seeds do not approve of this process; generally, they want farmers to purchase new seeds each year. Using the concepts of scale and jumping scale, determine the ethical questions in this debate.

Key Question: What Imprint does Agriculture make on the Cultural Landscape?

Cadastral Systems • Township and Range System (rectangular survey system to disperse settlers evenly) is based on a grid system that creates 1 square mile sections. (A village becomes a town in the US when it reaches 2500 people) • Metes and Bounds Survey uses natural features to demarcate irregular parcels of land. • Longlot Survey System divides land into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers, roads, or canals.

Dominant Land Survey Patterns in the US

Township and Range – The cultural landscape of Garden City, Iowa reflects the Township and Range system. Townships are 6 x 6 miles and section lines are every 1 mile.

Long lot Survey System – The cultural landscape of Burgandy, France & Mississippi Delta reflects the Long lot Survey system, as land is divided into long, narrow parcels. People live in nucleated villages and land ownership is highly fragmented.

Agricultural Villages • Linear Village--settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line; the pasturelands and farms lie just beyond a house and outbuildings, which may be surrounded by a small garden. Many follow a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal though some form due to physical restrictions, such coastlines, mountains, hills or valleys, as in the case of Victoria, Hong Kong. • Cluster Village (nucleated)--planned settlements: concept is one in which the houses, even most farmhouses within the entire associated area of land, such as a parish, cluster around a central church, which is close to the village green. Other focal points can be substituted depending on cultures and location, such as a commercial square, circus, crescent, a railway station, park or a sports stadium. • Round Village (rundling)--primitive form of circular village, mainly in Germany, typical of settlements in the Germanic-Slav contact zone in the Early Medieval period; comprises a central, circular village green owned in common with individually owned farmsteads radiating out around it like the spokes of a wheel Walled Village-- type of large traditional multi-family communal living structure found in China, designed to be easily defensible; completely surrounded by thick defensive walls, protecting the residents from the attack of wild animals and enemies. Usually, people living in the walled village are extended families or clans sharing the same surname. • Grid Village---type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. In the context of the culture of ancient Rome, the grid plan method of land measurement was called Centuriation; often found in modern villages. • Dispersed settlement--one of the main types of settlement patterns used by landscape historians to classify rural settlements found in England other parts of the world (US Midwest). Typically, there a number of separate farmsteads scattered throughout the area

Village Forms

Functional Differentiation within Villages • Cultural landscape of a village reflects: – Social stratification (How is material well being reflected in the spaces of a village? ) – Differentiation of buildings (What are they used for? How large are they? ) – Food storage is key

Stilt village in Cambodia Buildings look alike, but serve different purposes.

Farm in Minnesota each building serves a different purpose

Think of an agricultural region you have either visited or seen from an airplane. Describe the imprint of agriculture on this cultural landscape and consider what the cultural landscape tells you about how agriculture is produced in this region and how production has changed over time.

Key Question: What is the Global Pattern of Agriculture and Agribusiness? Book Notes!!!

Agriculture • Commercial Agriculture Term used to describe large scale farming and ranching operations that employ vast land bases, large mechanized equipment, factory-type labor forces, and the latest technology. - roots are in colonial agriculture - today, global production made possible by advances in transportation and food storage

Advances in Transportation and Food Storage - Containerization of seaborne freight traffic - Refrigeration of containers, as they wait transport in Dunedin, New Zealand

Agriculture and Climate • Climate Regions (based on temperature and precipitation) help determine agriculture production. • Agriculture Regions – semiarid, drier lands usually have livestock ranching and moister climates usually have grain production.

World Map of Climates Koppen Climate Classification System

Rainforest Protection • Although the poor quality of many rainforest soils has been known for hundreds of years, it has been frequently ignored by farmers, politicians, and others who have attempted to impose technological innovations from the north on a tropical ecosystem.

World Map of Agriculture Cash Crop and Plantation Agriculture (tropical areas) Cotton and Rubber Luxury Crops Commercial Livestock, Fruit, and Grain Agriculture Subsistence Agriculture Mediterranean Agriculture Illegal Drugs

Plantation Farming • usually large estate in a tropical or subtropical region that is cultivated by unskilled or semiskilled labor under central direction • self-sustained community, an economic and political institution governed with a monopoly of authority by the planter • agriculture occurs in LDC's but is generally owned by MDC's

Mediterranean Agriculture • The Mediterranean climatic region which experiences warm winter rain and summer drought has given rise to a distinctive type of agriculture around the world. This type of farming is also found in irrigated semi-desert and desert areas in similar latitudes. Farming is intensive and highly specialized. A variety of crops are raised. • Citrus fruits, olives and figs, with long, widespread roots, scant foliage and thick skinned fruits are best adapted to the Mediterranean type of climate. Dates are prominent in semi-arid region in North Africa and in scattered areas in south-west Europe, where cultivation of other crops is not viable.

Agribusiness and the Changing Geography of Agriculture • Commercialization of Crop Production With the development of new agricultural technologies, the production of agriculture has changed. - eg. Poultry industry in the US production is now concentrated farming is turning into manufacturing

Agriculture and the Environment • Loss of topsoil • Chemical run off into streams • Loss of biodiversity and native habitats • Soil erosion • Deforesting

Loss of Productive Farmland in danger of being suburbanized as cities expand into neighboring farmlands.

Analyze Figure 11. 19. Describe what areas of farmland in the country are the most susceptible to development, and explain why certain regions have more susceptible land than other regions.