Intensive & Extensive Agricultural Practices [AP Human Geography Unit 5 Topic 1]

[0:00]Hello there geographers and welcome back to the Mr. Sin channel. Today we start unit five of AP Human Geography. As always, if you find value in these topic review videos, consider subscribing. If you were to travel around the world or even around your own country, you would interact with different cultures, religions, hear different languages and dialects, see different types of agriculture, and most importantly, try different foods. Oftentimes, we can see different agricultural products grown and produced in areas with specific physical environment. We could look at tropical climates such as in Indonesia or countries in Africa near the equator, where we'll see the production of coffee, sugar or pineapple. If we look at subtropical climates such as the West Indies or parts of Indonesia, we'll often see rice, cotton or tobacco. In the grasslands and continental step that contain areas such as Mongolia, the western portion of the United States, or states located in Northern Africa, we often see cattle ranching, sheep, goats, horses, or camels. While Mediterranean climates such as California, Chile, or geographic areas that surround the Mediterranean Sea, we will often see the production of grapes, olives, and dates. Moving into warm mid-latitude climates like Southern China and Southern parts of the United States, we often see different vegetables, fruits and rice being produced. Lastly, we have cold mid-latitude climates, such as the North Central part of the United States, Southern Canada and Eastern Europe, where wheat, barley, livestock and dairy cows are often grown and produced. Notice that each of these different climates leads to the production of different food. This is due to the distinct physical features of an area and the climate. Some of these areas offer longer growing seasons, others have more arable land, some have more access to fresh water, and others have more space for the production of different agricultural goods. Today, the barriers to growing food are steadily being reduced thanks to advancements in technology. Farmers today can use different fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides to increase the yield of their crops. Genetic modification of plants and animals has also allowed for crops and animals to grow faster and larger, and environments that they used to not be able to grow in. New methods of farming such as greenhouses, vertical farming, and community gardens and farms allow for food to be produced in and near urban areas on land that used to not be able to produce food. Plus that's not even mentioning advancements in irrigation, GPS and GIS, which allow farmers to better understand their crops, when they need water, fertilizer, or when they're ready for harvest. All of these advancements are great examples of environmental possibilism, a concept we last talked about in unit one. And all of these advances counter Thomas Mouthus's original idea that food production growth is arithmetic. Now, when looking at different types of agriculture around the world, we can see different types of intensive practices and extensive practices. Intensive agricultural practices often require less land but require more capital and labor and are traditionally located closer to larger population centers. This type of agricultural production requires a lot of work and effort to produce as high of yield as possible. Today we can see a variety of intensive agricultural practices around the world. Plantation agriculture is traditionally located in periphery countries and former colonies that are located in tropical climates that have longer growing seasons. Labor in these areas is often cheap, which reduces the cost of production. We can see that many of the crops that are grown on plantations are cash crops, which are crops that are grown for the sale on the market and not for use by the grower. Oftentimes we may see farmers in areas that have less economic development grow cash crops to export their crops to more advanced economies to generate income. Which can create issues for developing countries as now their arable land is being used to export food instead of produce food for their own people. Today, many of the plantations around the world are run and operated by companies in more economically advanced countries with the goal of exporting the food produced in the plantation to core countries. Plantations often grow either coffee, sugar, tobacco or tea, just to name a few examples. The next intensive practice is mixed crop and livestock agriculture, which is typically found in more economically developed countries. Here, farmers grow crops such as corn and soybeans. These crops are often used to feed and fatten the livestock. Once the livestock is ready for sale, it will be sent to the slaughterhouse, processed and eventually sent to the market for sale. Lastly, there is market gardening, also known as truck farming. This is located in geographic areas that have longer growing seasons, such as the Southeastern part of the United States. Here, farms often grow fresh fruits and vegetables. The food is often harvested by migrant labor to help keep costs down. And once picked, it's either frozen, canned or processed. Then it's put onto a truck and shipped out to the market where it'll eventually be sold. Now, extensive agricultural practices on the other hand tend to use less labor and capital, but do require more land for the production of food. Crops often have a lower yield and are traditionally grown farther away from population centers. Today we can see a variety of extensive agricultural practices around the world. Shifting cultivation is often located in tropical climates such as Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, or Southeast Asia. This type of agriculture involves finding a plot of land, typically in a rainforest, and designating it for agricultural use. The land will then be cleared, and crops will be planted continuously in the clearing until the land starts to become less productive due to a loss of nutrients in the land. After that, the original plot of land is left to fallow, which means the land will be left alone to allow for vegetation to regrow and nutrients to return to the soil. A new plot of land will then be identified and the process will repeat. Moving over to Central and Southwest Asia or Northern Africa, we can see nomadic hurting. Here, sedentary agricultural practices are not practiced because the physical environment does not allow for traditional farming to occur. People instead are herders who move with their animals, which are traditionally cattle, sheep, or goats. Herders here are constantly on the move and are nomadic, but they tend to stay in a set geographic area. Often times, due to the constant movement, the population size is limited and people tend to possess few possessions. Lastly, there is ranching, which is typically located in areas where the land is not ideal for farming. This often means that land is less expensive, which is important since ranching takes up a lot of land. This type of extensive agriculture is also located farther away from population centers, since land is cheaper the farther away you are from an urban area. All of this allows ranchers to maximize their profits and reduce their costs. All right, and just like that, another topic review video is done. Now you know the drill geographers. Answer the questions on the screen and check your answers down in the description this video or in the comment section down below. 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