Agricultural and Rural Land Use Patterns and Processes Part 2

Question 1

Agribusiness

Answer 1

Farms run as corporations.

Question 2

Transnational Corporations

Answer 2

Corporations that operate in many countries. These large-scale operations are commercial, highly mechanized, and often use chemicals and biotechnology in raising crops and animals.

Question 3

Vertical Integration

Answer 3

The ownership of other businesses involved in the steps of producing a particular good.

Question 4

Economies of Scale

Answer 4

An increase in efficiency to lower the per-unit production cost, resulting in greater profits.

Question 5

Commodity Chain

Answer 5

A process used by corporations to gather resources, transform them into goods, and then transport them to consumers.

Question 6

Carrying Capacity

Answer 6

The number of people that U.S. farmers can support given the available resources.

Question 7

Cool Chains

Answer 7

Transportation networks that keep food cool throughout a trip.

Question 8

Location Theory

Answer 8

Deals with why people choose certain locations for various types of economic activity — factories, stores, restaurants, or agriculture.

Question 9

Von Thünen Model

Answer 9

An economic model that suggested a pattern for the types of products that farmers would produce at different positions relative to the market (community) where they sold their goods, is the start of location theory.

Question 10

Isotropic Plain

Answer 10

Flat and featureless with similar fertility and climate throughout.

Question 11

Horticulture

Answer 11

A type of agriculture that includes market gardening/truck farming and dairy farming.

Question 12

Bid-Price Curve (Bid-Rent Curve)

Answer 12

A graph used to determine the starting position for each land use relative to the market, as well as where each land use would end.

Question 13

Free-Market Economy

Answer 13

Supply and demand, not government policy, determines the outcome of competition for land.

Question 14

Comparative Advantage

Answer 14

Naturally occurring beneficial conditions.

Question 15

Supply Chain

Answer 15

All the steps required to get a product or service to customers.

Question 16

Luxury Crops

Answer 16

Not essential to human survival but have a high profit margin.

Question 17

Neocolonialism

Answer 17

The use of economic, political, and social pressures to control former colonies.

Question 18

Fair Trade Movement

Answer 18

Started with the Fair Trade certificates for coffee in 1988. It is an effort to promote higher incomes for producers and more sustainable farming practices.

Question 19

Subsidies

Answer 19

Public financial support.

Question 20

Infrastructure

Answer 20

Includes the roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, electrical grids, sewers, telecommunications, etc. of a country.

Question 21

Land Cover Change

Answer 21

The study of how land is used and impact of changing land use.

Question 22

Desertification

Answer 22

Fertile land becomes infertile. Caused by the removal of forests or overgrazing livestock which can allow for increased wind erosion and result in the loss of the topsoil.

Question 23

Salinization

Answer 23

Occurs when salts from water used by plants remain in the soil. This decreases a plant’s ability to uptake water and nutrients, which results in lower yields and may render soil useless.

Question 24

Terrace Farming

Answer 24

Farmers build a series of steps into the side of a hill.

Question 25

Irrigation

Answer 25

The process of applying controlled amounts of water to crops using dams, canals, pipes, sprinkler systems, or other manufactured devices rather than relying on just rainfall.

Question 26

Center-Pivot Irrigation

Answer 26

A system developed in the mid-20th century in which watering equipment rotates around a pivot and delivers specific amounts of water, fertilizer, or pesticides to the field.

Question 27

Wetlands

Answer 27

Low-lying areas that contain a significant amount of water at or near the surface.

Question 28

Deforestation

Answer 28

The removal of large tracts of forest.

Question 29

Slash-and-Burn Agriculture

Answer 29

An early agricultural practice and type of shifting cultivation that takes place when all vegetation in an area of forest is cut down and burned in place. The ash provides nutrients to the soil, and the land can be farmed for a few years before the soil becomes depleted and the plot is abandoned.

Question 30

Blue Revolution

Answer 30

The water equivalent of the green revolution, the Blue Revolution primarily refers to aquaculture.

Question 31

Overgraze

Answer 31

Occurs when the density of animals is greater than grasslands can support.

Question 32

Organic Foods

Answer 32

Crops that are non-GMO, produced without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, and use sustainable growing practices. Animals must be fed 100 percent organic feed and ranchers cannot administer antibiotics or hormones to the animals.

Question 33

Value-Added Crops

Answer 33

Those for which consumers are willing to pay more because of special qualities or because they are difficult to acquire.

Question 34

Value-Added Farming

Answer 34

Occurs when farmers process their crops into high-value products, rather than simply selling it as it comes from the field.

Question 35

Local-Food Movement

Answer 35

Seeking out food produced nearby.

Question 36

Urban Farming

Answer 36

Refers to the production of farm goods within an urban area with the goal of providing locally grown food.

Question 37

Community Gardens

Answer 37

These garden plots allow people to grow and harvest their own fresh food, grown organically, if they wish.

Question 38

Vertical Farms

Answer 38

Grow crops inside in stackable trays, using greenhouses, artificial lights, and hydroponics.

Question 39

Hydroponics

Answer 39

Allows crops to grow without soil using mineral-enriched solutions.

Question 40

Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Answer 40

Brings producers and consumers into a type of partnership. Consumers buy a share, or subscribe to a certain quantity of crops for a season. The food is made available to the consumer throughout the growing season. Consumers usually develop an appreciation of the challenges of production, while producers develop a better understanding of consumer wants.

Question 41

Food Insecurity

Answer 41

When households lack access to adequate food because of limited money or other resources.

Question 42

Food Desert

Answer 42

A neighborhood where residents have little to no access to healthy and affordable food.

Question 43

Food Distribution System

Answer 43

A network of trade and transportation that gets food from farms to consumers.

Question 44

Food Processing

Answer 44

The transformation of agricultural products into food or taking food items and transforming them into a different type of food.

Question 45

Tariff

Answer 45

A tax on imports.

Question 46

Quota

Answer 46

A limit on the quantity of a good imported.

Question 47

Gender Inequality

Answer 47

The unequal opportunities, treatment, or rights of a person based on gender.

Question 48

Gender-Specific Obstacles

Answer 48

Discriminatory practices that prevent female farmers from reaching their potential productivity.

Question 49

Crop Gap

Answer 49

The 20 to 30 percent gap of productivity between male and female farms.