Chapter 6: Agriculture Pre-industrial agricultural forms and regions Commercial agriculture and trade U.S. agricultural policy Sustainable agriculture as an ecological alternative to contemporary forms of food production Von Thünen model of agricultural production

Formation of the Global Agricultural System By 1500 agriculture across much of the New and Old World Development of family farm regions in areas of European settlement in mid- latitudes Development of plantation colonies in tropical Asia, Africa & Latin America –Labor intensive Disappearance of hunting and gathering

The Fertile Crescent

Origins of Plant and Animal Domestication Rise of specialized agriculture & towns engaged in localized trading

Industrialization of Agriculture Capital intensive, high energy use, concentration of economic power, low cost production Environmental impacts: depleted soil and water resources, pollution, destroyed a way of life in rural communities Figure % employed in primary activity

Percent of Labor Force in Agriculture

Spatial Variations in the Quality of Agricultural Resources Impact of temperature & precipitation on yield & cost Temperature Precipitation Too Cold Too Hot Too Dry Too Wet OPTIMUM Zero  and Rent

Subsistence Agriculture Most work done by hand, by families, with animal power but not mechanical equipment Most production consumed by farm families Intensive subsistence agriculture vs. peasant agriculture in semiarid E. Africa Agriculture still dominates work, plots are small, types of subsistence agriculture: (1) shifting cultivation, (2) pastoral nomadism, (3) intensive subsistence agriculture

Agricultural Systems

Nomadic Movement in NW Africa Also – transhumance in mountainous terrain such as the Pyrenees the Alps or in Norway

World Rice Production

Commercial Agriculture Tractors per 1000 hectares as an indicator of capital intensity

Commercial Agriculture in the U.S. Domination of agribusiness – vertical integration – capital & energy intensive – reliance on hybrid seeds / stocks

Corn Production

Wheat Production

Grain Yield and Production, Developing Countries

Global Population and Grain Production

Increased Interregional and International Trade in Agriculture

Specialized Agricultural Regions

U.S. Agricultural Policy – Farm Prices

Farm Subsidy Programs

Support Programs Differentially Benefit Large Corporate Farms

Sustainable Agriculture Alternatives to monoculture, and heavy use of pesticides and energy inputs Such as programs of social, ecological, and economic health for agricultural land and communities Options include: organic farming, agroecology, holistic management, urban gardening, community-supported agriculture, natural systems agriculture Reliance on local knowledge & minimization of ecological impacts

Von Thünen’s Location Theory Assumptions in modern rendering of this theory The isotropic plain Rent: Economic Rent as envisaged in Von Thünen’s model, versus rent like you and I pay to landlords or banks Von Thünen’s model: The role of wood historically

Land Rent Gradients

Basic Land-Rent Model Land Rent = Yield (Market Price minus Production Cost) - Yield *transport rate*distance) LR = E(p-a)-E*f*k If: E = 4, P = 5, a = 2, f =.1, k = 10, LR = 4 (5 - 2) - 4*.1*10 = = 8 Rent.xls

Rent Gradient and Rent Cone

Multiple Centers & Ag. Land Use Single Crops or Combinations The agricultural trade system A B A Crop 1 Crop 2 Crop 3

Land Use – competing crops

Von Thünen Land Use Scheme

Forests around Addis Ababa

Spatial Variations in the Quality of Agricultural Resources, cont. Limits for particular crops / animals Locational Rent vs. economic rent Defined relative to a market location Defined across all competing uses Crop A Crop B Crop C Crop D

Empirical Evidence for Agricultural Production Von Th ü nen’s famous studies Bauria, India; Addis Ababa Farm Land Use Values - Washington counties Sinclair’s Reversal of von Th ü nen’s Analysis Rent Distance from urban center Limit of expected urban growth

Washington Agricultural Land Values

Land Use Bauria, India

Location Rents in Urban Areas Distance from Center Location Rent Commercial Industrial Residential Agricultural