Where Did Agriculture Originate?

1. Where Did Agriculture Originate? • Origins of agriculture • Agriculture = deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through the cultivation of plants and/or rearing of animals • Cultivate = “to care for” • Crop = any plant cultivated by people

2. Where Did Agriculture Originate? • Origins of agriculture • Hunter-gatherers • Perhaps 250,000 remaining today • Invention of agriculture • When it began = unclear • Diffused from many hearths

3. Crop Hearths Figure 10-2

4. Animal Hearths Figure 10-3

5. Where Did Agriculture Originate? • Commercial and subsistence agriculture • Subsistence = produced mainly for the farm family’s survival • Most common in LDCs • Commercial = produced mainly for sale off the farm • Most common in MDCs

6. Agriculture and Climate Figure 10-4

7. Where Did Agriculture Originate? • Commercial and subsistence agriculture • Five characteristics distinguish commercial from subsistence agriculture • Purpose of farming • Percentage of farmers in the labor force • Use of machinery • Farm size • Relationship of farming to other businesses

8. Agricultural Workers Figure 10-5

9. Area of Farmland Per Tractor Figure 10-6

10. Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs? • Shifting cultivation • Most prevalent in low-latitude, A-type climates • Two features: • Land is cleared by slashing and burning debris • Slash-and-burn agriculture • Land is tended for only a few years at a time • Types of crops grown vary regionally • Traditionally, land is not owned individually

11. Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs? • Pastoral nomadism (herding domesticated animals) • Found primarily in arid and semiarid B-type climates • Animals are seldom eaten • The size of the herd indicates power and prestige • Type of animal depends on the region • For example, camels are favored in North Africa and Southwest Asia • Transhumance practiced by some pastoral nomads

12. Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs? • Intensive subsistence • Found in areas with high population and agricultural densities • Especially in East, South, and Southeast Asia • To maximize production, little to no land is wasted • Intensive with wet rice dominant • Intensive with wet rice not dominant

13. Rice Production Figure 10-12

14. Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs? • Plantation farming • Found in Latin America, Africa, and Asia • Products are grown in LDCs but typically are sold to MDCs • Plantations specialize in one or two cash crops • Important crops = coffee, sugarcane, cotton, rubber, and tobacco • A large labor force is usually needed in sparsely settled regions

15. Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs? • Mixed crop and livestock farming • Most land = devoted to crops • Most profits = derive from the livestock • Dairy farming • Regional distribution: the milkshed • Two primary challenges • Labor-intensive • Expense of winter feed

16. Corn (Maize) Production Figure 10-15

17. Milk Production Figure 10-17

18. Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs? • Grain farming • The largest commercial producer of grain = the United States • Livestock ranching • Practiced in marginal environments • Mediterranean agriculture • Based on horticulture • Commercial gardening and fruit farming • Truck farms

19. Wheat Production Figure 10-19

20. Meat Production Figure 10-21

21. Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties? Figure 10-24 • Challenges for commercial farmers • Access to markets is important • The von Thünen model (1826) • The choice of crop to grow is related to the proximity to the market

22. Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties? • Challenges for commercial farmers • Overproduction • Agricultural efficiencies have resulted in overproduction • Demand has remained relatively constant • As a consequence, incomes for farmers are low • Sustainable agriculture • Sensitive land management • Integrated crop and livestock

23. Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties? • Challenges for subsistence farmers • Population growth • International trade • Drug crops

24. Drug Trade Figure 10-27

25. Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties? • Strategies to increase food supply • Expanding agricultural land • Desertification • Increasing productivity • The green revolution • Identifying new food sources • Cultivating oceans, developing higher-protein cereals, and improving palatability of foods • Increasing trade

26. Agricultural Land and Population Figure 10-28

27. Grain Imports and Exports Figure 10-32

28. Where is Industry Distributed? • Origin of industry • From cottage industries to the Industrial Revolution • Impact of the Industrial Revolution especially great on iron, coal, transportation, textiles, chemicals, and food processing

29. Diffusion of the Industrial Revolution Figure 11-2

30. Where is Industry Distributed? • Industrial regions • Europe • Emerged in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries • North America • Industry arrived later but spread faster than in Europe • East Asia

31. Industrial Regions Figure 11-3

32. Industrial Areas in Europe Figure 11-4

33. Industrial Areas in North America Figure 11-5

34. Why Are Situation Factors Important? Figure 11-8 • Proximity to inputs • Bulk-reducing industries • Examples: • Copper • Steel

35. Why Are Situation Factors Important? Figure 11-10 • Proximity to markets • Bulk-gaining industries • Examples: • Fabricated metals • Beverage production • Single-market manufacturers • Perishable products

36. Why Are Situation Factors Important? • Ship, rail, truck, or air? • The farther something is transported, the lower the cost per km/mile • Cost decreases at different rates for each of the four modes • Truck = most often for short-distance travel • Train = used to ship longer distances (1 day +) • Ship = slow, but very low cost per km/mile • Air = most expensive, but very fast

37. Why Are Site Factors Important? • Labor • The most important site factor • Labor-intensive industries • Examples: textiles • Textile and apparel spinning • Textile and apparel weaving • Textile and apparel assembly

38. Cotton Yarn Production Figure 11-16

39. Woven Cotton Fabric Production Figure 11-17

40. Production of Women’s Blouses Figure 11-18

41. Why Are Site Factors Important? Figure 11-20 • Land • Rural sites • Environmental factors • Capital

42. Why Are Location Factors Changing? • Attraction of new industrial regions • Changing industrial distribution within MDCs • Interregional shift within the United States • Right-to-work laws • Textile production • Interregional shifts in Europe • Convergence shifts • Competitive and employment regions

43. Changing U.S. Manufacturing Figure 11-21

44. Manufacturers of Men’s and Women’s Socks and Hosiery Figure 11-22

45. European Union Structural Funds Figure 11-23

46. Why Are Location Factors Changing? • Attraction of new industrial regions • International shifts in industry • East Asia • South Asia • Latin America • Changing distributions • Outsourcing

47. World Steel Production Figure 11-24

48. Global Production Figure 11-25

49. Apparel Production and Jobs in the United States Figure 11-26

50. Why Are Location Factors Changing? • Renewed attraction of traditional industrial regions • Proximity to skilled labor • Fordist, or mass production • Post-Fordist, or lean production • Just-in-time delivery