The Geography of Agriculture

Agriculture’s Origins and History Classifying Agricultural Regions The Von Th Ü nen Model and Location Analysis The Green Revolution Genetic Modification of Crops

History of Agriculture Hunter-Gatherers Neolithic Revolution –Domestication of Plants and Animals –Diffusion of Agriculture Agricultural Industrialization The “Green Revolution” –Hybrids, scientific application of fertilizer, pesticide, and water Modern Agribusiness – large commercial farming Genetic Engineering of Crops

Neolithic Revolution – Begins Civilizaton Primary effects:  Urbanization – creation of city states  Social stratification – peasants (farmers on the bottom)  Occupational specialization – different jobs (farmers, merchants, nobles, priests etc.)  Increased population densities – more people Secondary effects:  Endemic diseases – clusters create disease  Famine – crop shortages  Expansionism – creation of kingdoms

Origins of Agriculture Which of these areas are considered cultural hearths?

Contemporary Food Consumption Is there a spatial relationship to the original hearths?

Where Did Agriculture Originate? Origins of agriculture –Hunter-gatherers Perhaps 250,000 remaining today –Invention of agriculture When it began = unclear Diffused from many hearths

Where Did Agriculture Originate? Origins of agriculture –Hunter-gatherers Perhaps 250,000 remaining today –Invention of agriculture When it began = unclear Diffused from many hearths

Crop Hearths Figure 10-2

Animal Hearths Figure 10-3

Contemporary Food Production

Agriculture is a global economy.

Developed Countries Undercut Free Markets in Agriculture Farmers in the developed world are paid an average of 2/3 more than the free market would provide. These subsidies to the world’s richest farmers directly damage the agricultural economies of the poorest nations. Despite this, the U.S. Congress and President Bush actually increased farm subsidies in 2002.

Agricultural Revolutions Technology allows much greater production (surplus) with less human labor, but often has high social and environmental costs.  Metal plows, Reapers, Cotton Gin – (1500s – 1800s AD)  Tractors (Internal Combustion Engine)‏ - 20 th century  Combines  Chemical Pesticides/Fertilizers – 20 th -21 st century  Hybrid Crops  Genetically-modified Crops

Agribusiness: The industrialization of agriculture  Modern commercial farming is very dependent on inputs of chemical fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides.  Oil is required to make fertilizer and pesticides.  It takes 10 calories of energy to create 1 calorie of food in modern agriculture.  Small farmer can’t buy needed equipment and supplies.  Fewer than 2% of U.S. population works in agriculture

Classifying Agricultural Regions Subsistence Agriculture Shifting Cultivation Pastoral Nomadism Intensive Subsistence Agriculture Commercial Agriculture Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming Dairy Farming Grain Farming Livestock Ranching Mediterranean Agriculture Truck Farming

Subsistence Agriculture Regions

Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs? Shifting cultivation –Most prevalent in low-latitude, A-type climates –Two features: Land is cleared by slashing and burning debris –Slash-and-burn agriculture Land is tended for only a few years at a time –Types of crops grown vary regionally –Traditionally, land is not owned individually

Shifting Cultivation Vegetation “slashed” and then burned. Soil remains fertile for 2-3 years. Then people move on.  where: tropical rainforests. Amazon, Central and West Africa, Southeast Asia  Crops: upland rice (S.E. Asia), maize and manioc (S. America), millet and sorghum (Africa)‏ Declining at hands of ranching and logging.

Pastoral Nomadism The breeding and herding of domesticated animals for subsistence.  where: arid and semi-arid areas of N. Africa, Middle East, Central Asia  animals: Camel, Goats, Sheep, Cattle (animals are rarely eaten)  transhumance: seasonal migrations from highlands to lowlands Most nomads are being pressured into sedentary life as land is used for agriculture or mining. Bedouin Shepherd Somali Nomad and Tent

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture The Fields of Bali Wet Rice Dominant  where: S.E. Asia, E. India, S.E. China  very labor intensive production of rice, including transfer to sawah, or paddies  most important source of food in Asia  grown on flat, or terraced land Double cropping is used in warm winter areas of S. China and Taiwan Thai Rice Farmers

Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs? Mixed crop and livestock farming –Most land = devoted to crops –Most profits = derive from the livestock Dairy farming –Regional distribution: the milkshed –Two primary challenges Labor-intensive Expense of winter feed

Commercial Agriculture Value-Added  Very little of the value of most commercial products comes from the raw materials  “adding value” is the key to high profit margins Roughly 6% of the price of cereal is the cost of the grain.

Corn (Maize) Production Figure 10-15

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming Where: Ohio to Dakotas, centered on Iowa; much of Europe from France to Russia  crops: corn (most common), soybeans  In U.S. 80% of product fed to pigs and cattle  Highly inefficient use of natural resources Highly inefficient use of natural resources  Pounds of grain to make 1 lb. beef: 10  Gallons of water to make 1 1b wheat: 25  Gallons of water to make 1 1b. beef: 2500

Milk Production Figure 10-17

Dairy Farming Where: near urban areas in N.E. United States, Southeast Canada, N.W. Europe - Over 90% of cow’s milk is produced in developed countries. Value is added as cheese, yogurt, etc. Dairy Farm, Wisconsin Von Thunen’s theories are the beginning of location economics and analysis (1826) Locational Theory : butter and cheese more common than milk with increasing distance from cities and in West. Milkshed : historically defined by spoilage threat; refrigerated trucks changed this.

Grain Farming Where: worldwide, but U.S. and Russia predominant Crops: wheat  winter wheat: Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma  spring wheat: Dakotas, Montana, southern Canada Highly mechanized: combines, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, migrate northward in U.S., following the harvest.

Wheat Production Figure 10-19

Livestock Ranching Where: arid or semi-arid areas of western U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Spain and Portugal. History: initially open range, now sedentary with transportation changes. Environmental effects: 1) overgrazing has damaged much of the world’s arid grasslands (< 1% of U.S. remain!)‏ 2) destruction of the rainforest is motivated by Brazilian desires for fashionable cattle ranches

Meat Production Figure 10-21

Mediterranean Agriculture Where: areas surrounding the Mediterranean, California, Oregon, Chile, South Africa, Australia Climate has summer dry season. Landscape is mountainous. Highly valuable crops: olives, grapes, nuts, fruits and vegetables; winter wheat California: high quality land is being lost to suburbanization; initially offset by irrigation

Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming Where: U.S. Southeast, New England, near cities around the world crops: high profit vegetables and fruits demanded by wealthy urban populations: apples, asparagus, cherries, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. mechanization: such truck farming is highly mechanized and labor costs are further reduced by the use of cheap immigrant (and illegal) labor. distribution: situated near urban markets.

large scale mono-cropping of profitable products not able to be grown in Europe or U.S. where: tropical lowland Periphery crops: cotton, sugar cane, coffee, rubber, cocoa, bananas, tea, coconuts, palm oil. What are potential problems with this type of agriculture? Environmental? Social? Plantation Farming

Making Sense of the Map of US Agricultural Regions

The Green Revolution in Agriculture

Acreage and Yield Trends

The Green Revolution in Agriculture Green Revolution History Acreage and Yield Trends Technical Problems Ethical Issues The term green revolution refers to the development and adoption of high yielding cereal grains in the less developed world during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Very large short term gains in grain output have allowed food supplies to grow faster than populations, until very recently.

History of Green Revolution 1943 Rockefeller Foundation begins work on short stature hybrid corn in Mexico 1960s Hybrid strains of rice, wheat, and corn show great success in S.E. Asia, and Latin America Head of Mexican corn program, Borlaug, wins Nobel Peace Prize 1990s Growth in food supply continues, but slows to below the rate of population growth, as the results of unsustainable farming practices take effect.

Acreage and Yield Trends Gains were made by: Dwarf varieties: plants are bred to allocate more of their photosynthetic output to grain and less to vegetative parts. Planting in closer rows, allowed by herbicides, increases yields. Bred to be less sensitive to day length, thus double-cropping is more plausible. Very sensitive to inputs of fertilizer and water.

Acreage and Yield Trends Notice the trend in recent years is level or down.

Technical and Resource Limitation Problems Heavy Use of Fresh Water High Dependence on Technology and Machinery Provided/Sold by Core Countries Heavy Use of Pesticides and Fertilizer Reduced Genetic Diversity / Increased Blight Vulnerability Questionable Overall Sustainability

Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties? Challenges for subsistence farmers –Population growth –International trade –Drug crops

Drug Trade Figure 10-27

Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties? Challenges for commercial farmers –Overproduction Agricultural efficiencies have resulted in overproduction Demand has remained relatively constant –As a consequence, incomes for farmers are low –Sustainable agriculture Sensitive land management Integrated crop and livestock

Ethical Issues Starvation of many prevented, but extra food may lead to higher birth rates. (MALTHUS) Life expectancy in less developed countries increased by 10 years in less than two decades (43 in 1950’s to 53 in 1970’s). Dependency on core countries increased; rich-poor gap increased. Wealthy farmers and multinational companies do well, small farmers become wage laborers or unemployed – dependent. More people malnourished/starving today than in 1950 (but lower as a percentage). U.S. spends $10,000,000,000 year on farm subsidies, damaging farmers and markets in LDCs.

“Our incredible successes as a species are largely derived from this choice, but the biggest threats to our existence stem from the same decision.” Jared Diamond, 1999  Emergence of new human diseases from animal diseases (i.e. smallpox, measles)‏ Dense urban populations allow spread/persistence of disease  Lower standard of living for many people. Archaeological evidence of serious mal-nourishment among early farmers. Many modern impoverished and malnourished farmers. Famine virtually non-existent in hunter-gatherer societies.  Increased susceptibility to plant blights and increased dependence on complex economic systems.  Environmental degradation topsoil loss (75% in U.S.), desertification, eutrophication, PCBs in fish, DDT and other pesticides Agricultural ‘Success’?

Biotechnology in Agriculture Cloning Recombinant DNA BT Corn Debate (transgenic maize)‏

Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties? Challenges for commercial farmers –Access to markets is important The von Thünen model (1826) –The choice of crop to grow is related to the proximity to the market Figure 10-24