10 Agricuture 1

AP Human Geography
2016-02-28
Chapter 10 Agriculture
I.

Key Issue 1: Why Does Development Vary among Countries?

1. Origins of Agriculture
a) Hunters and Gatherers
Before the invention of agriculture, all humans obtained food through
hunting for animals, fishing, and gathering plants.
Hunters and gathers lived in small groups of usually fewer than 50 persons
because a larger number would quickly exhaust the available resources
within walking distance. The group traveled frequently, establishing new
home bases or camps.
The direction and frequency of migration depended on the movement of
game and the seasonal growth of plants at various locations.
(1)

CONTEMPORARY HUNTING AND GATHERING.

Today, a quarter-million people still survive by hunting and gathering,
rather than agriculture.

b) Invention of Agriculture
The agricultural revolution was the time when humans first domesticated
plants and animals, and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering.
By growing plants and raising animals, humans created larger and more
stable sources of food, so more people could survive.
Scientists do not agree on whether the agricultural revolution originated
primarily because the last ice age ended or people started wanting to live in
a permanent settlement.
The agricultural revolution originated in multiple hearths around the world.
Those agricultural hearths are Southwest Asia, East Asia, sub-Saharan
Africa, and Latin America.
Animals were domesticated in multiple hearths as well.
Inhabitants of Southwest Asia may have been the first to integrate
cultivation of crops, with domestication of herd animals such as cattle,
sheep, and goats.
The horse is considered to have been domesticated in Central Asia.

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These animals were used to prepare the land before planting seeds.
They were also fed the harvested crop.
This integration of plants and animals is a fundamental element of modern
agriculture.
(1)

TWO TYPES OF CULTIVATION.

(a)

Vegetative planting
i)

The reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing

plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots.

ii) The earliest form of plant cultivation, according to prominent

cultural geographer Carl Sauer.
(b)

Seed Agriculture
i)

Which is the reproduction of plants through annual planting of

seeds that result from sexual fertilization.

ii) Seed agriculture is practiced by most farmers today.

2. Location of Agricultural Hearths
a) Location of First Vegetative Planting
Sauer believes that vegetative planting probably originated in Southeast
Asia
The first plants domesticated in Southeast Asia through vegetative planting
probably included roots such as the taro and yam, and tree crops such as
the banana and palm.
b) Location of First Seed Agriculture
Sauer identified three hearths in the Eastern Hemispherewestern India,
northern China, and Ethiopia
Inhabitants of Southwest Asia also were first to integrate seed agriculture
with domestication of herd animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats.
These animals were used to plow the land before planting seeds and, in
turn, were fed part of the harvested crop.
(1)

DIFFUSION OF SEED AGRICULTURE.

Seed agriculture diffused from Southwest Asia across Europe and
through North Africa.
Greece, Crete, and Cyprus display the earliest evidence of seed
agriculture in Europe.
Seed agriculture also diffused eastward from Southwest Asia to
northwestern India and the Indus River plain.

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3. Classifying Agricultural Regions

a) Differences Between Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture
In developing countries most people work in subsistence agriculture,
which is the production of food primarily for consumption by the farmers
family.
Very few people in developing countries work in commercial agriculture
which is the production of food primarily for sales off the farm.
In developing countries, around 5 percent of workers are engaged directly
in farming, compared to 44 percent in developing countries.
Both push and pull factors have contributed to the decline of farmers in the
United States.
People were pushed away from farms by lack of opportunity to earn a
decent income and at the same time they were pulled to higher-paying jobs
in urban areas.
a) USE OF MACHINERY
Beginning in the late eighteenth century, factories produced farm
machinery.
Inventions in farming in the nineteenth and twentieth century made farming
less dependent on human and animal power.
The building of railroads in the nineteenth century and highways and trucks
in the twentieth century have enabled farmers to transport crops and
livestock farther and faster.
Experiments conducted in university laboratories, industry, and research
organizations generate new fertilizers, herbicides, hybrid plants, animal
breeds, and farming practices that produce higher crop yields and healthier
animals.
b) FARM SIZE
The average farm is relatively large in commercial agriculture.
Combines, pickers, and other machinery perform most efficiently at very
large scales and their considerable expense cannot be justified on a small
farm.
Farmers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy or rent land and
machinery before beginning operations.
Commercial farmers frequently expand their holdings by renting nearby
fields.

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The amount of land devoted to agriculture has increased in the United

States primarily due to irrigation and reclamation.
II.

KEY ISSUE 2 Where Are Agricultural Regions in Less sloped Countries?

A. Shifting Cultivation
1. Characteristics of Shifting Cultivation
a) THE PROCESS OF SHIFTING CULTIVATION.
b) CROPS OF SHIFTING CULTIVATION.
c) OWNERSHIP AND USE OF LAND IN SHIFTING CULTIVATION.
2. Future of Shifting Cultivation
B. Pastoral Nomadism
1. Characteristics of Pastoral Nomadism
a) CHOICE OF ANIMALS.
b) MOVEMENTS OF PASTORAL NOMADS.
2. The Future of Pastoral Nomadism
C. Intensive Subsistence Agriculture
1. Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice Dominant
2. Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice Not Dominant
D. Plantation Farming

III.

KEY ISSUE 3 Where Are Agricultural Regions in More Developed Countries?

A. Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming
1. Characteristics of Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming
a) CROP ROTATION SYSTEMS.
2. Choice of Crops
B. Dairy Farming
1. Why Dairy Farms Locate Near Urban Areas
2. Regional Differences in Dairy Products
3. Challenges for Dairy Farmers
C. Grain Farming
D. Livestock Ranching
1. Cattle Ranching in U.S. Popular Culture
a) BEGINNING OF U.S. CATTLE RANCHING.
b) TRANSPORTING CATTLE TO MARKET.
2. Fixed Location Ranching
a) RANGE WARS.
b) CHANGES IN CATTLE BREEDING.

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3. Ranching Outside the United States

E. Mediterranean Agriculture
F. Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming
G. Importance of Access to Markets
1. Von Thnen Model
2. Application of Von Thnen Model
IV.

KEY ISSUE 4 Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?

A. Challenges for Commercial Farmers
1. Overproduction in Commercial Farming
2. Sustainable Agriculture
a) SENSITIVE LAND MANAGEMENT.
b) LIMITED USE OF CHEMICALS.
c) INTEGRATED CROP AND LIVESTOCK.
B. Challenges for Subsistence Farmers
1. Subsistence Farming and Population Growth
Forest Fallow
Bush Fallow.
Short Fallow.
Annual Cropping.
Multicropping.
2.

Subsistence Farming and International Trade

a) DRUG CROPS.

C. Strategies to Increase Food Supply

a) INCREASE FOOD SUPPLY BY EXPANDING LAND AREA FOR AGRICULTURAL USE
b) INCREASE FOOD SUPPLY THROUGH HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY
c) INCREASE FOOD SUPPLY BY IDENTIFYING NEW FOOD SOURCES
d) INCREASE FOOD SUPPLY BY INCREASING EXPORTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
2. Africa's Food-Supply Crisis