1. Chapter 10 Agriculture

2. Agricultural Origins & Regions Origins of agriculture – Hunters and gatherers – Invention of agriculture Location of agricultural hearths – Vegetative planting – Seed agriculture Classifying agricultural regions – Subsistence vs. commercial agriculture – Mapping agricultural regions

3. Agriculture The deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through the cultivation of plants and rearing of animals to sustain one’s family or for economic gain To cultivate means to care for, to grow, to farm A crop is a plant cultivated

4. Agriculture Geographers study where farming occurs Why it occurs there What is grown and what techniques are used Why they are grown Why techniques are used

5. Origins of Agriculture Prehistory: 2,000 BC and before (before written record) Old Stone Age (Paleolithic Age): All of history until around 10,000 BC – People were nomads – They lived in small groups – They hunted and gathered and followed sources of food and water

6. Origins of Agriculture Agricultural (Neolithic Revolution): Started the New Stone Age, people learned to farm – Many still hunted and gathered – Agriculture started in many hearths – We don’t know exactly how or where or who or what- before written record – It diffused throughout the world

7. Origins of Agriculture Most people ultimately learned to farm It encouraged permanent settlements You could grow on the same land You could support larger populations The first civilizations emerged around 3,000 to 2,000 BC in Egypt, India, China, and Mesopotamia Domestication of animals also started around 10,000 BC and helped farm

8. Origins of Agriculture Only a quarter million people, less than 0.005 percent of the world are nomadic hunter-gatherers today These people tend to live in very rural, remote locations like: – The African Bush and Rainforest – The Australian Outback – The Arctic Circle – The South American Rainforest and desert

9. Origins of Agriculture Agriculture has changed over time New tools, inventions, knowledge, plants, fertilizers, methods, etc… have improved it Two main types: – Vegetative Planting: reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants like cutting stems or dividing roots – Seed Agriculture: Reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization

10. Origins of Agriculture Agriculture has changed over time New tools, inventions, knowledge, plants, fertilizers, methods, etc… have improved it Two main types: – Vegetative Planting: reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants like cutting stems or dividing roots – Seed Agriculture: Reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization

11. Vegetative Planting Hearths Fig. 10-1: There were several main heaths, or centers of origin, for vegetative crops (roots & tubers, etc.), from which the crops diffused to other areas. Carl Sauer suggested that Southeast Asia was a primary hearth.

12. Seed Agriculture Hearths Fig. 10-2: Seed agriculture also originated in several hearths and diffused from those elsewhere.

13. Types of farming Subsistence Farming: production of food primarily to support a family, for your own consumption (most common in LDCs) Commercial Farming: production of food primarily to sale off the farm (most common in MDCs)

14. Subsistence vs. Commercial Purpose of farming: subsistence farmers farm to support their family, while commercial farmers farm to make money by selling the products

15. Subsistence vs. Commercial Percentage of Farmers in the Labor Force: In LDCs, there are more farmers in the labor force but they are working smaller, often subsistence farms. In MDCs, you have fewer farmers, but they are often farming much larger, profitable, commercial farms Less than 10% in MDCs are farmers More than 50% in LDCs are farmers

16. Labor Force in Agriculture, 2005 Fig. 10-3: A large proportion of workers in most LDCs are in agriculture, while only a small percentage of workers in MDCs are engaged in agriculture.

17. Subsistence vs. Commercial Use of Machinery: Less machinery used in LDCs, more heavy labor, more people required, less capital, less money to buy the equipment. More machinery used in MDCs, less heavy labor, need fewer people, more capital, more money to buy the equipment.

18. Tractors, per cropland Fig. 10-4: Tractors per 1000 hectares of cropland. Use of machinery is extensive in most MDC agriculture, but it is much less common in LDCs.

19. Combines on Wheat in Kansas Combines can reap, thresh, and clean crops like wheat in a single operation.

20. Wheat Farm in Montana American grain farms can cover enormous amounts of land.

21. Subsistence versus Commercial Farm Size: Smaller, family farms in LDCs. Larger, commercial farms in MDCs. Average US farm is 444 acres. Most of these are family owned and operated though (98% in the US). It takes a lot of land to do commercial agriculture. Mechanization allows this.

22. Subsistence versus Commercial Relationship of Farming to Other Businesses: In LDCs, farming is often for subsistence and not closely tied to other businesses. In MDCs, farming is very closely tied to other businesses- this is called agribusiness. Less than 2% of Americans are farmers, but around 20% work in food production and services related to agribusiness. Most farms are family- farms, but most other businesses are corporation run.

23. Mapping Agriculture Often depends on climate Often depends on geography Map by Whittlesey lays it out- 11 main agricultural regions MDCs and LDCs are very different in farming and what they farm Want to keep track of how it changes- we are all dependent on agriculture whether we do it or not

24. World Agriculture Regions Fig. 10-5b: Locations of the major types of subsistence and commercial agriculture.

25. Farmland Loss in Maryland Fig. 10-1.1: Overlaps of soil quality, environmental & cultural features, and population growth may show areas of greatest threat of farmland loss in Maryland.