chapter 10 agriculture Flashcards
agribusiness
Commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations.
agriculture
The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth’s surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain.
animal husbandry
a kind of farming in which people raise animals for meat, milk, eggs, etc.
biotechnology
use of genetically engineered crops in agriculture & DNA manipulation in livestock in order to increase production.
biotechnology
use of genetically engineered crops in agriculture & DNA manipulation in livestock in order to increase production.
capital-intensive agricultural
Form of agriculture that uses mechanical goods such as machinery, tools, vehicles and facilities to produce large amounts of agricultural goods; a process requiring very little human labor
commercial farming
The farming of products for sale off the farm
dairying
occupation of producing milk products
debt for nature swap
when agencies such as the World Bank make a deal with third world countries that they will cancel their debt if the country will set aside a certain amount of their natural resources.
double cropping
harvesting twice a year from the same land. Can cause agricultural exhaustion making people move away from the land.
enclosure movement
The process of consolidating small landholdings into smaller number of larger farms in England during the eighteenth century.
extensive subsistence farming
consists of any agricultural economy in which the crops and/or animals are used nearly exclusively for local or family consumption on large areas of land and minimal labor input per acre
feedlots
Places where livestock are concentrated in very small area and raised on hormones and hearty grains that prepare them for slaughter at a much more rapid rate than grazing; often referred to factory farms
hunters and gatherers
For 1000’s of years humans sustained themselves with this practice. Hunters gained skills in capturing and killing animals, and gatherers learned which plants and fruits were edible and nutritious.
intensive subsistence farming
Involves the cultivation of small land plots through use of great amounts of labor and yields per unit; area and populations densities are both high.
mediterranean agriculture
Agriculture practiced in areas with a Mediterranean climate; mostly horticulture
milkshed
The area surrounding a city from which milk is supplied
mixed crop and livestock farming
Both animal and crops are farmed in the same area.
plantation farming
Agriculture performed on a large farm in tropical and subtropical climates that specializes in the production of one or two crops for sale, usually to a more developed country
ranching
A form of commercial agriculture in which livestock graze over an extensive area
salinization
Process that occurs when soils in arid areas are brought under cultivation through irrigation. In arid climates, water evaporates quickly off the ground surface, leaving salty residues that render the soil infertile
mechanization
In agriculture, replacing human labor with technology or machines
seed agriculture
Reproduction of plants through annual introduction of seeds, which result from sexual fertilization.
shifting cultivation
A form of subsistence agriculture in which people shift activity from one field to another; each field is used for crops for relatively few years and left fallow for a relatively long period.
slash and burn
see shifting cultivation; cultivation of crops in tropical forest clearings in which the forest vegitation has been removed by cutting and burning
transhumance
A pattern of regular seasonal movement by human groups. It can be seen as a form of pastoralism or nomadism.livestock is moved seasonally between one area of pasture and another
under nutrition
Case of not getting enough calories or nutrients.
vegetative planting
Process of cultivating by simply cutting off a stem of another plant or by dividing roots of a plant; developed before seed agriculture.
