Models of Agricultural Land Use

“Subsistence-farming” is the name given to a specific type of agricultural production in which an individual farmer, or a family, produces enough food to support himself or herself. It is common in especially rural or poor areas throughout the world.

In the Von Thunen model crops that spoil easily, such as dairy products, are most likely to be located close to urban centers to decrease transit time.

“Sharecropping” refers to a system of agriculture whereby a landowner allows an individual or a family to rent a portion of land in exchange for a share of the crops they harvest. “Serfdom” and “plantation” may seem like correct choices; however, “serfdom” refers to the status of many peasants under feudalistic rules that were considered to be part of the land that they farmed. “Plantation” refers to a large piece of land used to commercially produce a single crop.

In a “planned-agricultural economy” the government controls all aspects of the production, sale, and exchange of agricultural produce. The supply and the price are both set by the government. This type of agricultural economy is closely associated with communist countries, although it is practiced in capitalist societies too. Planned-agricultural economies were common in China and the Soviet Union in the twentieth century, particularly when the two countries were under the control of Mao and Stalin, respectively.

A “feedlot” is a place where a large quantity of livestock is raised in extremely cramped and inhumane, but cost effective, conditions. The factory farms where chickens are often produced in the United States are examples of “feedlots.”

California, with its temperate and reliable climate and its varied terrain, has a very similar style of agriculture as that practiced in the Mediterranean. This is why traditional Mediterranean crops like grapes and olives grow so well in regions of California.

The Von Thunen model was first proposed by the geographer Johann von Thunen. It concerns how agricultural land usage varies in relation to the proximity of that land to urban centers. Specifically Von Thunen noted that crops that spoil easily or require expensive transportation were located close to urban centers, whereas crops that stayed fresh for a long time and required less expensive transportation were located further from urban centers.

The growing of crops like grapes and olives is closely associated with Mediterranean agriculture. A form of agriculture that practices in countries like Italy, Greece, and Spain on the Mediterranean and in regions of other countries such as Chile, Australia, the United States, and Argentina.

“Spring wheat” is an extremely important collection of crops that provides a great deal of the nutrition that is consumed by the planet. “Spring wheat” is planted in early spring and usually harvested in the late summer. In the United States “spring wheat” is generally harvested between mid-August and late-September.

A “milkshed” is the term applied to an agricultural region in which milk is produced in large numbers.