Where Are Agricultural Regions in MDCs? Chapter 10: Agriculture Key Issue 3

Mixed Crop & Livestock Farming Integration of crops & livestock Most land is for crops but most income is from livestock – Most of the crops go to feed the livestock Major area in US = Midwest – Major crop = corn (soybean is 2 nd ) Crop rotation – 2, 3, & 4 field rotation systems – Involved growing cereal, root, &/or rest crops in succession – Improvement over shifting cultivation systems Less time with land fallow and not yielding crops

Global Agriculture Types

Dairy Farming Challenges to dairy farming: – Labor Intensive - requires year-round attention Cows are milk twice a day Cows need daily feeding to produce milk – Costs of equipment, feed, land, etc. all increasing Uses of milk largely determined by location (milkshed) – Closer to metropolitan areas, more likely used for milk (NE US) – More rural location, more likely to be used for cheese, butter, etc. (Midwest) MDCs producing majority of world’s milk but LDCs are gaining – India is the largest producer, US 2nd

Global Agriculture Types

Dairy Geography

Grain Farming Grain is the seed from different grasses: – Wheat, oats, barley, rice, etc. – Most important is wheat Is ground to create flour for bread, breakfast cereals, etc. US & Canada account for ½ of the world’s commercial wheat production – India & China are surpassing the US in total wheat production Three basic regions: – Winter wheat: Kansas, Colorado, & Oklahoma – Spring wheat: Dakotas, Montana, & Wyoming

Global Agriculture Types

Livestock Ranching Extensive area of grazing vs. feeding livestock – Arid or semiarid areas not good for crops Ranching decline in the late 1800’s due to competition from farming – Improved irrigation techniques expanded farming territory – Barbed-wire protecting lands Today, cattle are still raised on ranches but then sold to mixed crop & livestock farmers

Global Agriculture Types

Mediterranean agriculture Areas with Mediterranean ag. have close to the same physical make-up – Close to seas/oceans, most on west coast, moisture from sea winds, hilly/mountainous – Horticulture and tree crops are most often found here Grapes & olives are two biggest crops in these regions California is an exception – produces large amount of citrus for US

Global Agriculture Types

Commercial Gardening & Fruit Farming Predominantly found in SE US – Long growing season with humid conditions Produce many fruits and vegetables to MDCs – Some are sold fresh, many are sold to processors – Highly efficient & mechanized – Often used migrant workers Sometimes undocumented workers to keep costs down Specialty farming – Producing crops that aren’t widely used but demand is growing

Global Agriculture Types