Chapter 10

Commercial Agriculture

Found in MDCs, is the production of food primarily for sale off the farm
RWE: US Midwest

Subsistence Agriculture

Found in LDCs, is the production of food primarily for consumption by the farmer's family.
RWE: farmers in Asia

Agriculture

Deliberate modification of Earth's surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain.

Vegetative Planting

The reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots.
RWE: Christmas Cacti, Celery

Seed Agriculture

The reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization.
RWE:

Agribusiness

The system of commercial farming found in the United States and MDCs; food is sold to food-producing industries.
RWE:

Transhumance

A seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pasture areas
RWE:

Shifting Cultivation

Farmers clear land for planting by slashing vegetation and burning the debris (Also called Slash-and-Burn Agriculture).
Farmers grow crops on he land intensively until nutrients are depleted then stop so soil can recover.

Swidden

The cleared land for Shifting Cultivation.
Also known as lading, milpa, chena, and kaingin.

Pastoral Nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture based on the herding of domesticated animals.
RWE: Middle East

Pasture

Grass or other plants grown for feeding grazing animals, as well as the land used for grazing.
RWE: Africa

Intensive Subsistence Farming

Where farmers must work more efficiently with small parcel of land; use all available space

Wet Rice

The practice of planting rice on dry land and then moving seedlings to a flooded field to promote growth.

Sawah

The Flooded field for growing rice. Indonesian

Paddy

Synonymous with Sawah, used by Europeans and North Americans.

Double Cropping

Intensive Farming of obtaining two harvests per year from one field. Common in places with warm winters
RWE: wheat in summer, corn/soy beans in fall

Crop Rotation

Practice of rotation of use of different feilds from crop to crop each year to avoid exhausting soil.
RWE: each feild rotates between a grain, a rest crop, and others

Plantation

A large farm that specializes in ome or two cash crops
RWE: cotton or tobacco

Cereal Grain

Oats, Wheat, Rye or Barley

Milkshed

The ring surrounding a city from which milk can be supplied without spoiling.
RWE:

Sustainable Agriculture

Practices that preserve and improve the environment

Desertification

When land in semiarid regions deteriorates to desert like conditions because of human actions

Spring Wheat

Dakotas, Montana, and Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Planted in spring and harvested in late summer.

Winter Wheat

Kansas, Colorado, an Oklahoma. Crop is planted in autumn and develops a strong root system. Ripe by the beginning of summer.

Grain

The seed from various grasses, such as wheat, corn, oats, barley, rice, millet, and others.

Green Revolution

The introduction of higher-yield seeds and increased use of fertilizers to expand production; occurred in the 1970s and 80s