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iv.
Horse Central Asia
c. First used animals to cultivate the land and were later used to sell leather and milk.
d. Both environmental and cultural factors contributed to agriculture.
(1)
Those who favor environmental reference climate change around 10,000
years ago. (End of last ice age)
(2)
Those who favor cultural say that humans preferred living in a fixed place.
e. People noticed that discarded food and berries grew into new plants. Later
generations learned to use water and manure.
f. Improved communications have increased diffusion of plants around the world.
B. Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture
a. Farmers in LDCs practice subsistence farming, whereas farmers in MDCs practice
b.
c.
d.
e.
commercial agriculture.
Subsistence agriculture production of food for the farmers family.
Commercial agriculture production of food for sale.
The most widely used map of agriculture was done by Derwent Whittlesey.
(1)
11 regions
Because of environmental determinism, geographers do not place too much emphasis on
ii.
iii.
1960 4 million
Today 2 million
(a)
Because of push and pull factors
b. LDC 50% of workers
3. Use of Machinery
a. MDCs can feed a lot more people because they use machines, whereas in LDCs,
b.
c.
d.
e.
4. Farm Size
a. Commercial farms are large.
(1)
180 hectares (449 acres)
(2)
Family owned
(3)
Frequently rent nearby fields
b. Farms are larger because of newer equipment.
c. Although the US has fewer farmers, the amount of farmland is increasing.
(1)
Declined from its all-time peak in 1960s because of expansion of urban
areas.
d. Prime Agricultural Land The most productive farmland.
5. Relationship of Farming to Other Businesses
a. Commercial farming is closely tied to other businesses.
b. Agribusiness Commercial farming method by using many different steps in
making food.
(1)
Common in the US
(2)
Includes tractor manufacturers, fertilizer production, and seed
distribution
II.
trees.
On a windless day, they burn the debris.
Rain then washed the ashes into the soil.
Swidden The cleared land
(1)
Also known as lading, milpa, chena, and kaingin
Before planting, the cleared land is prepared by hand, not with animals.
The only fertilizer is potash (potassium).
Little weeding is done the first year.
The land can then support crops for 3 years.
Most productive harvesting comes in the second year.
The field is used again in 6-20 years.
Choice of Animals
a. According to cultural and physical characteristics.
b. Camel is the best in North Africa and Southwest Asia, along with goats and
sheep. The horse is preferred in Central Asia.
c. Family needs 25-60 goats or sheep, or 10-25 camels
Camel
a. Go long periods without water, carry heavy loads, and move fast.
b. Bothered by flies and sleep-sickness and take a long time (1
e. In the future, pastoral nomadism will be confined to small areas that are
not useful for irrigation or minerals.
C. Intensive Subsistence Agriculture
a. Intensive Subsistence Agriculture A form of subsistence farming that requires
farmers to use a lot of effort to get the most food from the land.
b. Densely populated areas like East, South, and Southeast Asia.
(1)
Usually smaller in Asia
i. Fragmented lots from children
1. Intensive Subsistence with White Rice Dominant
a. White rice Process of planting rice on dry land and then moving it to
flooded fields.
b. Several steps to growing rice
(1)
First, prepare the field using a plow by oxen or water buffalo
(2)
Flood with water
i. Sawah The flooded field in the Austronesian language.
ii. Paddy Incorrectly Americans call the fields; Malay word for
(3)
(4)
(5)
wet rice.
Transfer rice seedlings from fry land to submerge in water.
Harvest by hand with knives
i. Separate husks from seeds
ii. Chaff The husks
iii. The heads are separated by beating them with bare feet.
iv. Threshed To beat grain from stocks
The threshed rice is placed in a tray, while the lighter chaff is
winnowed.
i. Winnowed Blown away
(6)
The hull is removed by mortar and pestle
i.
Hull outer covering
c. Grown on flat lands but are forced onto mountains.
d. Double cropping Getting two harvests from one field
i. Warm winters
ii. South China and Taiwan
iii. Alternating between rice and wheat or barley
2. Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice Not Dominant
a. For most of the 20th century, the worlds milk came from MDCs
(1)
Risen in LDCs
(2)
India, US, China, Pakistan, Russia
b. Most important type of agriculture in the first ring outside cities.
(1)
Highly perishable
c. Milkshed The ring surrounding a city in which the milk does not spoil.
d. Before railroads, milksheds were within 50km. Now milk can be up to 500km.
e. Farmers sell milk to whole sellers, and butter factories.
f. The farther a farm is from a milkshed, the smaller chance they will have fresh milk.
(1)
They will most likely get cheese, butter, or condensed milk.
g. The proximity of northeastern farms to large cities is an example of the regional
difference.
h. New Zealand 5% fresh milk
i. UK 50% fresh milk
2. Challenges for Dairy Farmers
a. Declining revenue and raising costs.
Labor-intensive
a. Cows must be milked twice a day, every day. They always need attention.
Winter Feed
a. Need to feed cows in winter when they cannot graze.
C. Grain Farming
a. Grain Seeds from various grasses, such as wheat, corn, oats, barley, rice, millet, and
others.
b. Mostly the major crop on most farms.
c. Grown for humans rather than livestock.
d. Most important crop is wheat.
(1)
Sold for a higher price because it is used more.
e. Worlds leading export crop.
f. Largest producer of grain is the US.
(1)
Also in Canada, Argentina, Australia, France and the UK.
g. Winter-wheat Wheat planted in the autumn and harvested in the early summer.
h. Spring-wheat Wheat planted in the spring and harvested in the late summer.
i. Within North America, farming is concentrated in 3 area:
The Winter Wheat Belt through Kansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma. Survives winter
because it is insulated under the snow.
The Spring Wheat Belt through the Dakotas, Montana, and Southern Saskatchewan in
also produced. Half of the land is also used for growing grains for pasta and bread.
i. Seeds are planted in the fall and harvested in early summer.
j. Cereal is grown the least in California.
(1)
Grow fruits and vegetables.
(2)
Rapid growth of urban areas have converted high-quality land into housing
developments.
F. Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming
a. Most common form of agriculture in the US Southeast.
b. Long growing season and humid climate.
c. Truck farming Commercial gardening and fruit farming because truck was a Middle
English term for bartering.
d. Grow apples, lettuce, cherries, and tomatoes.
(1)
Some are sold fresh, but most are sold to large processors.
e. Highly efficient and take advantage of machinery.
(1)
Experiment with new fertilizers and seeds
(2)
Higher immigrants
f. Specialty farming has spread to New England
(1)
(2)
IV.
(3)
(3)
3. Sustainable Agriculture
a. Sustainable agriculture Agricultural processes that enhances environmental quality.
b. Typically generate lower costs but costs less.
c. Organic Farming
(1)
Large farms rely on nonsustainable practices such as burning fossil fuels.
(2)
Worldwide 0.24% of farmland is organic
i. Australia is the leader
Sensitive land management
Limited use of chemicals
Better integration of crop and livestock
-
a. 5 Stages by Boserup
Forest Fallow. Fields are used up to 2 years and left fallow for more than 20 years
grasses to grow)
Annual Cropping. Fields are used every year and rotates for a few months with roots.
Multicropping. Fields are used several times a year and never left fallow.
c. Kenya
(1)
Women grow crops for the family, while men work for wages
i. Men grow crops to trade
ii. Women make clothing and jewelry to sell
3. Drug Crops
a. Some export crops from LDCs can be turned into drugs.
b. Marijuana is the leading drug
c. The UN says that 4 million people survive on the sale of opium.
d. Afghanistan is the source of 80% of the worlds opium, which is used to make heroin.
e. Most consumers are in central Asia.
f. Much of the making and processing of cocaine is done in Colombia.
g. The majority of marijuana that reaches the US is from Mexico (from the Cannabis
sativa plant)
(1)
Not expanding worldwide like opium poppies and coca leaves are
C. Strategies to Increase the Food Supply
Expanding land used for agriculture
Increasing the productivity of the land used for agriculture
Identifying new food sources
(3)
Matured faster
d. The Rockefeller and Ford sponsored.
e. The programs director, Dr. Norman Borlaug, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.
f. The International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines worked to create a
miracle rice. During the 1960s, they created a hybrid of Indonesian and Taiwan rice.
g. Recently, scientists have developed new corn.
h. The new seeds diffused rapidly around the world.
i. Farmers have known for thousands of years that manure, bones, and ash help the
fertility of the land. Only recently did scientists identify nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium, as well.
j. Nitrogen
(1)
Most important
(2)
China is the leading producer
(3)
Europe Urea
(4)
America Ammonia gas
(5)
Expensive for LDCs
i. LDCs need machines to make better use
k. Phosphorus is found in China, Morocco, and US.
l. Potassium is found in Canada, Russia, and Ukraine.
3. Identifying New Food Sources
-
Cultivating Oceans
a. 2/3 of fish are consumed by humans, the other by pigs
b. The worlds annual fish catch increased in the late 20 th century, but some
fish species declined.
c. Overfishing occurs in North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
d. The world fish catch has remained constant since the 1980s despite
population growth.
e. To protect fishing areas, countries claim control up to 200 nautical miles
Developing Higher-Protein Cereals
a. People in MDCs get protein from meat. LDCs rely on wheat, corn, and rice.
Improving Palatability of Rarely Consumed Foods
a. People chose food based on local characteristics and religious beliefs.
b. A third way to make use of global resources is to encourage the consumption
of foods that are avoided because of social reasons.
c. The soybean in North America
(1)
(2)
soybeans
(3)
However, burgers, hot dogs, and oils contain soybeans
(4)
In Asia, protein drinks contain soybeans.
d. Krill could be an important source of food from the ocean.
(1)
They have increased because of whale hunting
(2)
The Soviet Union used krill to feed animals
(3)
It does not taste good.
4. Increasing Trade
a. The top three grain exports are wheat, corn, and rice.
b. Few countries are major exporters, but they make enough to cover the gap.
c. Before WWII, Western Europe used to import grains.
d. Asia became a grain importer in the 1950s.
e. Eastern Europe in the 1960s.
f. Latin America in the 1970s.
g. By 1980, North America was the only main grain exporter.
h. Because of the increasing need for food imports, the US passed Public Law 480, the
Agricultural, Trade, and Assistance Act of 1954 (PL-480)
(1)
Title I Provided sale of grain at low interest rates
(2)
Title II Gave grants to needy people