Agriculture

Agricultural Hearths 1st Agricultural Revolution

Carl Sauers beliefs on domestication

Domestication probably did not develop in response to hunger
Starving people must spend every waking hour searching for food

Started by people who had enough food to remain settled in one place Did not occur in grasslands or river floodplains because of thick sod and periodic flooding Must have started in regions where many different kinds of wild plants grew Started in hilly district areas, where climates change with differing sun exposure and altitude Vegetative Planting 1st (transplanting part of actual plant) then Seed Planting

Diffusion along Trade Routes

Techniques as well as foods

Subsistence Agriculture
Found in LDCs

Commercial Agriculture
Found in MDCs Distinguishing features
Purpose of farming # of farmers in the labor force Use of machinery Farm size Relationship of farming to other businesses
Rubenstein p. 330-333

Percent of Labor Force engaged in Agriculture

Rub. Map 331

Agricultural Regions
By Derwent Whittlesey, 1936 11 main agricultural regions
5 in LDCs 6 in MDCs Plus 1 where ag is nonexistent

LDC: Shifting Cultivation

Characterized by
Slash and burn agriculture Using field for only a few years

Cleared land called Swidden or

ladang, milpa, chena or kaingin

Crops
SE Asia: rice S America: maize & cassava Africa: millet & sorghum

LDC: Pastoral Nomadism

A form of subsistence agricultural Located in semiarid lands of: N. Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Only 15 million people are pastoral nomads but us 20% of Earths land area Transhumance

LDC: Intensive Subsistence Agriculture w/wet rice

Intensive: farmers more work more intensively to subsist Areas of high population density resulting in less land available/farmer Some are wet rice areas Some have double cropping

LDC: Intensive Subsistence Agriculture wet rice not dominant

Areas with low precipitation Crops: wheat, barley, legumes, etc. Crop rotation Common in Communist China

LDC: Plantation Farming

A large farm that specializes in one or two crops: cotton, sugarcane, coffee, rubber & tobacco Usually in subtropics Usually in areas of low population density must import workers

MDC: Mixed Crop & Livestock

Most common form of commercial ag in US Most crops are fed to animals rather than for human consumption corn or soybeans common Uses crop rotation

Rub. Map 343

MDC: Dairy Farming

Once only in MDCs, now more common in S & E Asia
India is the #1 producer

Must be close to market milkshed

Improved transportation and refrigeration have increased milkshed radius

Rub. Map p. 344

MDC: Grain Farming

Crops grown primarily for human consumption Grains are: wheat, corn, oats, barley, rice, millet, etc. Stores easily & transported a long distance N. Am prairies worlds breadbasket
Rub. Map 346

MDC: Livestock Ranching

Commercial grazing of livestock over an extensive area Range wars caused by enclosures Introduction of new cattle breeds Non-US ranching: Spain, Portugal, Argentina, southern Brazil & Uruguay

Rub. Map 348

MDC: Mediterranean Ag.

S. Europe, N. Africa, w. Asia, California, central Chile, & sw. Australia All of the above borders seas, most on west coast off continents Mostly horticulture: fruits, vegetables, and flowers & commercial tree crops Most of worlds olives & grapes produced in Med. areas

MDC: Commercial Gardening

Predominant in se US Aka truck farming (truck was a Middle English word for bartering) Highly efficient large-scale operations New England has specialty farming limited but increased demand among affluent, ex: asparugus, strawberries, etc.

2nd Agricultural Rev.

1750-1900 with the Industrial Rev. Increased productivity More food with less farmers Esther Boserup - agric. output depends on the pop. - AntiMalthusian
5 stages of intensification of farmland
1. forest fallow, 2. bush fallow 3. short fallow 4. annual cropping 5. multicropping

Green (3rd) Revolution

Invention and quick diffusion of agricultural techniques during 1960s80s Main techniques
Genetic Engineering
Higher-yield seeds Norman Borlaug Drought/disease resistance Quicker growing season (double-cropping)

Expanded use of fertilizers

Need tractors, irrigation pumps & other machinery to take full advantage