From Subsistence to Agribusiness

AP Human Geography – February 2015

What is Agriculture?

• Agriculture: raising of crops & livestock to produce food, feed & fuel

• 50% of crops are used to feed people, 50% are used to feed livestock

Percent of Population Directly Engaged in Agriculture Is a Key

Development Statistic World = 36% of populationU.S. = <1% of population

Why does the U.S. have such a low percentage of its labor force engaged in agriculture?

Percent of Workforce Employed in Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

When And Where Did Agriculture Begin?

• Cultivation of root crops– S and SE Asia 14,000 years ago

• 1st Agricultural Revolution– Planned cultivation of seed crops

• SW Asia (Fertile Crescent) 10,000 years ago

– Animal domestication• SW Asia (Fertile Crescent) 8,000 years ago

– Made permanent settlements possible– Led to population growth

Types of AgricultureSubsistence: growing for self and family

Shifting cultivation: relocating cultivation areas from year to year Slash and burn: clearing cultivation areas by cutting foliage and burning to replenish nutrients

Commercial: large-scale farming for profit

Plantation: large estates owned by individuals, families or corporations organized to produce cash crops

Subsistence Agriculture Regions

Where is subsistence agriculture most common? Why?

Impact of Colonialism on Agriculture Very Significant

• In colonial regions, Europeans tried to end subsistence ag, promote commercial ag– Monoculture: dependence on one ag commodity

• Europe a market for imported ag products

• Europe manufactured and sold finished products made from imported raw materials

If you don’t remember what colonialism is, this is an ideal time to review. Check your Political Geography notes.

2nd Agricultural Revolution

• 1600s - diffused from Europe• Innovations:

– British Enclosure Movement (from common open fields to individual enclosed fields)

– Mechanization– Crop rotation– Scientific breeding

• Innovations led to agricultural surpluses • Food surpluses freed people to move from farm to

factory, leading to Industrial Revolution

Von Thunen’s Model - Know It!• 1826 - von Thunen -

German landowner• Assumptions:

– Flat terrain– Consistent soil and

conditions– No transportation barriers

• Transportation costs determine location of ag activities– Closest to town, produce

most expensive to transport– Furthest from town, produce

cheapest to transport

3rd Agricultural Revolution or “Green Revolution”

• Began in mid-1900s - diffused from core to periphery– Genetically modified seeds, chemical fertilizers

and pesticides, irrigation systems– Improved crop yields– Greatest impact in Asia - eradicated famine in

India

• Controversial– Harmful environmental effects– Too expensive for many subsistence farmers– Agribusinesses profit

Norman Borlaug “Father of the Green Revolution”

In U.S., fewer farms, but larger farms

Agriculture on the Landscape

Regional differences? Why?

Cadastral System (Land Survey System): Metes and Bounds

Cadastral System:Township and Range

Cadastral System: Longlots (Mississippi)

Agriculture on the Landscape

Crop circles are actually lands irrigated with center-pivot irrigation systems … big “sprinkers” that rotate in a circle.

Agriculture on the Landscape

•50% of world population lives in villages and rural areas

•Nucleated (clustered) settlement leaves more land open for agriculture

Global Agricultural Patterns

See Goode’s Atlas and our Google Slide Shows for Global Commodity Maps

Global Agricultural Patterns

• Determined by climate, soil, agricultural methods, technology, culture, government, history, economics, and much more …

• Impact of colonialism evident– Cotton, rubber, coffee plantations

• Advances in transportation and refrigeration critical• Large agricultural corporations (agribusiness) have HUGE

influence on commodity chains• Many issues of concern: fossil fuel usage, illegal drugs,

overfishing, deforestation, erosion, pesticides, herbicides, pollution, antibiotics, growth hormones, etc.

World Climate Map

Relationship between climate and agriculture?

World Agriculture Map

Relationship between climate and agriculture?

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Organic Agriculture

Fair Trade

• Promotes payment of fair prices & social and environmental standards for exports from periphery to core

• In U.S. Fair Trade certified products include coffee, chocolate, crafts, etc.