Importance of Agriculture: Distribution, Variation, and Revolution

1. Unit 5 Agriculture • Importance of AG • Everyone dependent on food • AG occupies more land area than any other econ activity • AG employs 45% - almost half of world’s labor (in Africa and Asia over 50% are farmers) • W/out AG you could not have any cities or urban areas

2. AG – Intro cont’d • AG practices = one of the most fundamental differences between MDCs and LDCs • Big Questions…. • Where is AG distributed across the earth? • How does farming vary around the globe? • Why does farming vary across the globe?

3. Origins of AG • AG: purposeful modification of earth’s surface to plant crops or raise livestock for human sustenance • AG began when humans domesticated plants and animals for use • Origins of AG predate recorded human history

4. Origins of AG • B/f AG = Hunter/gatherer societies follow game and seasonal growth

5. 1st AG Revolution • @ 10,000 yrs ago – late 18th C • Domestication – conscious manipulation of plants/animals • Invention of AG evolved slowly and over time through accident and experimentation • 1st rev shifted people from hunt/gather to semi-sedentary

6. 1st AG Rev – cont’d • Carl Sauer – expert on 1st Rev • Occurred in time of plenty, not famine • Multiple hearths occurred independently in several places • Seed cultivation in Fertile Crescent (Iraq) - @ 10,000 yrs ago • Yams in hill country of SE Asia @ 10,000 yrs ago • Root crops & corn in Mesoamerica (Mayans) @ 5,000 yrs ago • Likely discovered by women by accident

7. 1st AG Revolution – cont’d • AG Diffusion: spread by relocation - migration & colonialism (Columbian Exchange) • Today diff is hierarchical – starts in research centers of MDCs moves to smaller farms or LDCs • Diff can be bad/accidental (ex: kudzu = the vine that ate the South)

8. AG Diffusion – Columbian Exchange – relocation diff

9. AG diffusion – accidental - kudzu

10. 2nd AG Revolution • Began in W. Eur in 1600s – transformed W. Eur and N. America • Intensified AG by promoting higher yields per acre and per farmer • Used crop rotation, fertilizers, improved collars for draft animals • Farmers create surplus, people can live in cities and buy AG products at market • Move from rural to urban

11. 2nd AG revolution – cont’d • Late 1700s = Industrial Revolution – mechanization • Tractors, reapers, threshers replaced human labor • Better transportation – RR, steamboats, refrigerated cars, etc. allows farmers to ship food products further to urban markets

12. 2nd AG rev – cont’d – Ind Rev • Transportation Revolutions – increase market area for farmers’ produce

13. 3rd AG Rev = Green Rev – 1940s-1960s • MDCs transfer techn to LDCs • Main practices: • Artificial fertilizer • Irrigation • Insecticides and pesticides • Mechanical machinery • Crossbreeding/hybridization (naturally not in a lab) • ….all produce higher yields

14. 3rd Rev / Green Rev • Multinational Corp encourage LDCs to focus on specialty crops – monoculture for export instead of producing food for local consumption • Was successful in some LDCs but detrimental in others (new tech devastated land, bad for env, unsustainable farming, and changes in social and culture structures

15. Today and the Future…..High tech AG and Agribusiness • Computerized irrigation, remote sensing, long-term weather predictions, GMO’s • GMOs: genetically modified foods – genes altered in a lab for disease resistance, increased productivity, increased nutritional value • BIG debate…U.S. pro – feed developing world; Europe anti – Franken food

16. GMOs

17. Today and Future…. • Agribusiness: multinational giant corporations dominate much of world’s AG market • demise of family farm • AG is BIG, expensive business (control land, tech, machinery, shipping, packaging, etc.) • Globalization of AG: free trade, WTO

18. Geog looks at WHAT crops are produced around the globe….affected by……. • Environment: (Environmental Determinism)…rice needs lots of water, grapes need cool wet winters and hot dry summers, etc. Possibilism…green houses, irrigation • Culture: rice in Asia, corn in MX, wheat in US/Eur, no pork in Middle East, etc.

19. What crops produced where… • Economic: grow crop that makes greatest profit (von Thunen)

20. Geog looks at HOW crops grown • Labor intensive – lots of people and few tools V. Capital Intensive – little human labor, but tools, machinery • Intensive AG- greater yields off smaller areas (future of farming as AG land is lost V. Extensive AG – needs lots of land, not efficient (wide spread ranching)

21. HOW crops grown – cont’d • Intensive/extensive and capital intensive/labor intensive spectrums are independent of each other…..examples? • Subsistence AG (LDCs) V. Commercial AG (MDCs) …see handout

22. AG Regions in LDCs • 1.Shiftng Cultivation: in rainforests • Slash and Burn: clear land by slashing vegetation and burning debris • Swidden: land that’s been cleared for farming • Land often owned by village not indiv. • Cannot support dense populations • Soil depletes rapidly…leads to deforestation

23. AG in LDCs - • Shifting cultivation – deforestation

24. AG Regions in LDCs • 2.) Pastoral Nomadism – nomadic herders • Dry mntn regions of Africa and Asia where harsh climate prevent plants • Herders cover wide area searching for food for herd • Transhumance – seasonal migration • Use animals - food, clothing, milk, skins • Type of animal varies depending on culture and physical region (i.e. camel, sheep, goat, horse, etc.)

25. AG in LDCs - • Pastoral Nomadism

26. AG Regions in LDCs • 3.) Intensive Subsistence • High yield for small area of land • Densely pop areas of Asia • Often w/ wet rice in Asia • W/ wheat and barley in India and China • Double cropping – 2 crops/harvests per year • Crop Rotation – preserves soil nutrients

27. AG Regions in LDCs • 4.) Plantation Farming • Found in tropics/subtropics • Large farm specializes in 1-2 cash crops (coffee, sugar, cotton) • Often controlled/owned by MDC • Labor comes from LDC • Crops exported for sale, not sold locally

28. AG Regions in MDCs • 1.) Mixed Crop/Livestock Farming • Western N. America, S. America, Australia • Integrate crops and livestock – crops (soybeans and corn) fed to animals • Employ crop rotation

29. AG Regions in MDCs • 2.) Dairying: • Near large urban areas (NE United States, SE Canada, NW Eur) • Close to city b/c product perishable (esp milk…cheese & butter can come from further away) • Milk Shed how far out can supply milk w/out spoiling • These farms are expensive and labor intensive

30. AG in MDCs – Dairy Farms

31. AG Regions in MDCs • 3.) Grain Farming: wheat, corn, barley, oats, millet • grains grown for human consumption • Sale to manufacturers for food production (cereal, bread, flour) • US – by far greatest exporter of grain (Great Plains = bread basket)

32. AG in MDCs – grain farming

33. AG Regions in MDCs • 4.) Livestock Ranching: • Commercial grazing of livestock (cattle – beef) over extensive areas • Big in western US (i.e. ranchers) and Argentina – semi-arid areas

34. AG Regions in MDCs • 5.) Mediterranean AG • Mediterranean climates of W. Eur, CA, Chile • Variety of fruits and vegetables for human consumption – olives, grapes, avocadoes, nuts, etc. • Olives and grapes = most valuable cash crops…..olive oil and wine

35. AG in MDCs - Mediterranean

36. AG Regions in MDCs • 6.) Truck Farming – commercial gardening and fruit farming • American SE – long growing season and humid • Apples, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, cherries, etc. • “Truck” was a word for barter and these items were originally produced for local markets…today produced for large scale food processors

37. Truck farming Apples, squash, lettuce, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, peaches, tomatoes, green beans

38. Issues for Commercial Farmers • 1.) Access to markets – distance from market influences crop choice • Von Thunen’s Model 19th C Germany • Noticed lands w/ same physical geog were being used for diff AG products • Farmers consider 2 costs – land and transporting goods to market • Land cost most expensive near market & decreases w/ distance

39. Von Thunen – cont’d • Products w/ intensive land use, high transportation costs, and in high demand located near market (i.e. highly perishable items, bulky heavy items….dairy, fruits, veggies). These generate higher prices and farmers can afford more expensive land nearest market

40. Von Thunen – cont’d • Products in less demand, w/ more extensive land use or cheaper to transport are found further from market where land is cheaper (ranching, mixed farming, orchards) • Formula – can farmer make profit? • P= V – (E + T) • Profit = commodity value – (production cost + transportation cost)

41. Von Thunen – cont’d • The model = concentric rings coming out of market • 1. nearest, perishable items diff to transport (berries, milk, tomatoes) • 2. forestry – wood heavy and diff to transport • 3. mixed farming – pigs, poultry • 4. wheat, barley, grains, livestock

42. Von Thunen Model

43. Contemporary Variables of the Model? • Modern transportation more efficient • Transportation costs no longer proportional to distance • Wood (#2 forestry) no longer needed for fuel • Technology has decreased permissibility (refrigerated cars, canning, etc.) • Model still relevant today?????

44. Issues for Commercial Farmers - OVERPRODUCION • Tech allows farmers to produce more than demanded (too much product, not enough profit) • Ex: US govnt pays 4 bill in cotton subsidies, farmers make 3 bill off crop • Subsidies: govnt pays to produce less – spends @ 10 bill annually • Govn’t also buys surplus and donates to foreign countries

45. Issues for Subsistence Farmers • 1.) rapidly increasing pop – must feed more people on same land (GMOs?) • 2.) Trying to grow food for export for development and not just for consumption • Strategies…. • Expand land areas and increase productivity of land already in use • Identify new food sources • When there is surplus, export, to bring in $$$

46. Future of Farming….. • Intensive AG is replacing Extensive AG…generate more food on smaller plots of land • Ex: Feedlots: concentrate raising livestock in smaller space and use hormones and other fattening grains to prepare cattle for slaughter at a more rapid pace and in a smaller space

47. Future of Farming…. • Biotechnology – techniques to modify living organism and improve plant and animal species and production (GMOs) • Agribusiness: includes food production, canning, refining, packing, etc. • Little farmer goes out of business • Transnational Corp – profit goes to company • Can get any fruit/fresh produce all over the globe at any time of year

48. AG and the Environment • Negative impacts on Env • Pesticides (DDT) harm wildlife, pollute lakes, rivers, etc. • Erosion – loss of fertile topsoil – fertile topsoil accumulates slowly takes hundreds of yrs to rebuild • Salinization: soil in dry area is irrigated, water evaporates quickly and leaves salty residue • Urban Sprawl: takes over good AG land

49. AG and the Environment • Deforestation: slash and burn in rainforests (debt for nature swap – see article) • Desertification: degradation of land…turns into desert b/c of extensive planting or grazing • Conclusion….greater tech often correlates w/ destruction of env.