Unit 5: Agriculture Flashcards
Boserup’s Thesis
Contradicts Malthusianism. As the population increases, so will technology and innovation ensuring the population will not die due to starvation. Population growth forces an increase in technology in the FARMING industry.
Von Thunen’s Model
An economic model. It suggests a pattern for the types of products that farmers would produce at different positions which is relative to the distance from the market and commerce locations.
What is the goal of Von Thunen’s Model?
To maximize profit
What are three factors that Von Thunen’s Model consider?
Transportation Costs, Price of Land, and Proximity to Market
Which factor is the most important in Von Thunen’s Model?
Proximity to Market
What does the distance reflect in Von Thunen’s Model?
Bid-Rent Curve
How many rings are there in Von Thunen’s Model and how is it determined?
There 4 rings and it is determined by the crop’s transport gradient.
Which items face highest transport rates in Von Thunen’s Model?
Perishable items like fruit and vegetables.
What items have low transport rates in Von Thunen’s Model?
Commodities like grains
What does the first ring consist of in Von Thunen’s Model?
Dairy and Market Gardening because they are perishable and generate HIGHER transport rates.
What does the second ring consist of in Von Thunen’s Model?
Lumber and Forestry
What does the third ring consist of in Von Thunen’s Model?
Mixed Farming of grains and field crops
What does the fourth ring consist of in Von Thunen’s Model?
Extensive grain farming and livestock raising
What are updates to Von Thunen’s Model?
Refrigeration, no longer reliant on forest and lumber for fuel and rings widening + a greater milkshed
What is a milkshed?
An area surrounding the milk source (dairy farm) where milk is supplied without spoiling.
Bid-Rent Theory
A curve that indicates the starting position for each land use relative to the market, and where each land use will end up.
How does the price increase in the Bid-Rent Theory?
Closer distance to the city/market, the higher the price
How does the price decrease in the Bid-Rent Theory?
Farther the distance from the city/market, the cheaper the price
Where does intensive agriculture go in the Bid-Rent theory?
Towards the center of the city
What is intensive agriculture?
Agriculture that requires large quantities of inputs ( labor, capital, agricultural products) per unit of land.
Example of intensive agriculture
Intensive farming practices include market gardening, plantation agriculture, and mixed crop/livestock systems.
Where does extensive agriculture go in the Bid-Rent Theory?
Away from the city
What is extensive agriculture?
Extensive farming is a type of agricultural production that involves the use of relatively low levels of inputs, such as labor, capital, and chemicals, in order to produce crops or livestock.
Example of extensive agriculture?
Large-scale growing of wheat, barley, cooking oils and other grain crops in areas like the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia.
First Agricultural Revolution
The beginning of the domestication of plants and animals, it provided more a more stable food supply and healthier lives.
Second Agricultural Revolution
The time where the Industrial Revolution increased the food supply and support of the population growth.
What are some devices used during the Second Agricultural Revolution?
Seed drill, livestock breeding, mechanized harvesting, and crop rotations
What was an effect due to the Second Agricultural Revolution?
Less labor required in farms, resulting in people moving to urban areas to find places of work (factory jobs)
Third Agricultural Revolution
(AKA Green Revolution) Development of higher-yield and fast growing crops through increased technology, pesticides, chemicals, fertilizer
- Alleviates hunger worldwide
The results of the Third Agricultural Revolution?
Increase in food production, reduction of hunger and famine, lowered food prices in MDCs, and environmental damage
Where did the Blue Revolution take place?
During the Third Agricultural Revolution
What does the Blue Revolution consist of?
Practice of aquaculture, responsible for 50% of the world’s seafood, fastest growing form of food production
What are the effects of the Blue Revolution?
Reduced famine and hunger, fish enclosures causes disease and parasites to spread, harms the ecosystem due to excess fish waste, fish contains high levels of pesticides
What did Carl Sauer argue?
He argued that there were early hearths of domestication of plants and animals
- criticized environmental determinism
What were the agricultural hearths?
Southwest Asia (Fertile Crescent), Indus River Valley, Southeast Asia, and Central America
What was known as the Fertile Crescent?
Southwest Asia
What are the types of agriculture that relies on climate?
Mediterranean, Plantation, Specialty Crops, Grain Farming
Mediterranean Agriculture
Diverse specialty crops like grapes, avocados, olives, figs, and dates are grown
- ex: California, Western Europe, Chile, and Australia
Plantation Agriculture
Large commercial farms that specializes in one export crop, typically in tropical areas with substantial precipitation
Specialty Crops Agriculture
Includes peanuts, coffee beans, and pineapples, produced usually LESS in MDCs, exported to more MDCS
Grain Farming Agriculture
Focuses on the growing of wheat because the region is too DRY for mixed crop agriculture
What are the types of intensive agriculture?
Market Gardening, Plantation Agriculture, Mixed Crop/Livestock