March 3, 2015 How many gallons of milk does the United States produce each year? What is the average size of a dairy herd in the United States? How many dairy farms are in the United States? What is the typical amount of milk produced each day by one cow?

INTRODUCTION Agriculture – the deliberate tending of crops and livestock in order to produce food and fiber Most ppl make their living as farmers Yet less than 2% of Americans are farmers Agricultural production is at an all-time high world wide Culture dictates how land is divided and for what purposes Most food humans eat comes directly or indirectly from the soil Farming has been the basis of existence all over the world *Key contribution of agriculture allowed people to settle permanently in one location

HUNTERS & GATHERERS Overcome great odds everyday for survival Drought is the big issue Must have a working knowledge of every berry, nut, root, seed, and beetle Tools – from clubs to spears to axes, the controlled use of fire, baskets for collecting berries, Only about 250,000 people throughout the world now

A note about what we eat… There are 30,000 species of plants on earth – in the Ped world, we eat about 20… Specifically the big 3 >wheat, corn, rice acct for ½ of what we eat Of the 3000 fruits known to be consumable, we eat about 2 dozen of them Meats – we eat 3-4 of those available > pork, beef, chicken… Thank you to AGRIBUSINESS!

I. FIRST AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION – PLANTS/SEEDS A. 10,000-12,000 years ago, accompanied by a modest population explosion B. Hearths or source region of plant domestication and specific products – SEE CHAPTER 10!

***Different species in different areas*** A.     ANIMAL DOMESTICATION No firm date as to when domestication occurred Goats, pigs, and sheep rapidly incorporated into captivity Ø      SEAsia – pigs, water buffalo, chickens Ø      SAsia – cattle, elephant Ø      SWAsia – goat, sheep, camel Ø      Inner Asia – yak, horse, goat, sheep, reindeer Ø      Mesoamerica – llama, alpaca, pig, turkey   ***Different species in different areas***

B. DIFFUSION OF AGRICULTURE Ø Blurred the original spatial patterns Ø *Areas that had agriculture and domesticated animals developed quicker’

C. SUBSISTENCE FARMING – growing only enough to survive Shifting cultivation interpreted as slash-and- burn > Seems less efficient But is less damaging to soil, Uses less energy

C. SUBSISTENCE FARMING  Alternatives – European powers sometimes in their zeal to help…. forced subsistence farmers to sell excess thereby increasing cash reserves devote some land for cash crops Conducted soil surveys, built irrigation systems, lent money for start up costs

RESULTING IN… severe famine changing of the entire economic system to more intensive farming and cash cropping inequitable resource/land distribution system leading to a very wealthy , elite class and poor people being left behind (look at Kenya today – 1/08….)

D. SECOND AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION 1. Agriculture underwent significant change during the 17th and 18th centuries 2. Productivity increased Machines/tractors doing the work instead of humans *von Thunen (1783-1850) Spatial Model of Farming

Consequently… Ø      famines have been abated Ø      genetic products require more fertilization and pesticides       

E. THIRD AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION: Also known as the “Green Revolution” Laboratories and plant nurseries Ø First experimented with in the Philippines Ø

Advantages of the Green Revolution Yields are 2-4 times greater The shorter growing season Farming incomes have increased Diet of rural communities is now varied Local infrastructure has been upgraded Employment has been created for industries that supply farms with supplies and machinery

What did it do? It produced spectacular increases in yields and production, and we must not lose sight of that. There is no doubt that it made more food available than would have existed without it.

Where did all this come from? During the 1940s, pioneering work was done by Prof. Norman Borlaug in the hybridization of plants. Essentially, he produced dwarf varieties so that more of the energy went into food production, than into growing tall.

Principal Beneficiaries of the Green Revolution 7

Disadvantages of the Green Revolution High amounts of fertilizers and pesticides are needed to optimize production. This is both economically and environmentally costly New varieties require more weed control and are more susceptible to pests and disease Middle and higher-income farmers have benefited more than low-income farmers- thus widening the income gap in rural communities and increasing rural to urban migration Mechanization of farming has increased rural unemployment Some new varieties have inferior taste

The Green Revolution: The Latest Concern A 1992 UN report found that even in countries where food intake had risen, diseases associated with vitamin and mineral deficiencies had increased. These deficiencies were linked to consumption of Green Revolution crops, which are low in vitamins and minerals Because these crops have replaced common produce, many people in the developing world have extremely low levels of zinc, iron, and vitamin A

The Green Revolution: The Latest Concern In some countries, the majority of people suffer from this hidden starvation People who are starved, never fulfill their physical or intellectual potential The World Bank estimates that these vitamin deficiencies are responsible for reducing the GDP of the developing world by as much as 5%

“Green Revolution”

Terms for you…. AGRIBUSINESS – set of economic and political relationships that organizes agro-food production from the development of seeds to the retailing and consumption of the agricultural product Example: Tyson, Conagra, Perdue

Vertical integration A single firm takes control of several stages in the production process (fertilizers, seeds, processing plant, grocery store…). Example: Conagra is an international corporation that owns grain companies, feedlots, meat- processing, ahd wholesale distribution facilities. Tyson (Why has chicken become sooo popular since the 1980’s???)

Horizontal integration Process where smaller enterprises are merged to create larger units (consolidating adjacent farms) Results in disappearance of small, family run farms. What have been the implications of this process in American agriculture? What has protected European farmers from the American scale of horizontal integration???

Food chain 5 central and connected agricultural sectors with 4 contextual elements acting as external mediating forces on agricultural products. 5 sectors INPUTS PRODUCTION PRODUCT PROCESSING DISTRIBUTION CONSUMPTION

4 EXTERNAL MEDIATING FORCES State International trade Physical environment Credit and finance

Food regime Specific set of links that exist among food production and consumption and capital investment and accumulation opportunities What are agricultural SUBSIDIES and how do they affect farming and food prices???