Human GeographyUnit 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 Second Agricultural Revolution (1600s)

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 AgricultureWestern India

Northern China(Millet)

Ethiopia(Millet and Sorghum

Southwest Asia(Rice)

Eastern Hemisphere

Origin and Diffusion of Seed Agriculture

Southwest Asia Europe Northwest Africa

Origin and Diffusion of Seed Agriculture

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?

Enclosure Crop Rotation

Jethro Tull’s Seed 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 Subsistenc

e

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

What is a milkshed?

A Milkshed is the ring of milk production that surrounds a

major city.

Cincinnati Milkshed

Grain Farming Locations

The United States: Winter Wheat

• Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma• Planted in the Autumn, Ripens in the Summer

The United States: Spring Wheat

• Palouse Region of Washington, the Dakotas and Montana• Winters too severe for Winter Wheat

Other Countries

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

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’s Model

Assumed

Flat Terrain

Uniform SoilNo significant

barriers to transportation

Long Term Observations of Thunen’s Model

• 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