Agriculture Notes

Part One: Time line

Did you know there are about 3000 edible plants and we only use about 15? We have only 14 domesticated
animals used in farming. Both the 15 plants and 14 animals represent 90% of our food.

1. What is agriculture?

2. Agriculture is the process by which food is being produced (food and it's resources).

3. Why do we need agriculture?

4. We need it to survive and produce food.

5. What is the difference between hunters/gatherers and farmers?

6. Hunters go to catch food, etc. Farmers rear animals, plants, etc.

7. Explain what happened 1000 years ago. Why did agriculture get started?

8. Agriculture has been here long before we can imagine. It has been here for many years.

9. Where is the Fertile Crescent?

10. It is in the crescent-shaped region in Western Asia and North Africa that spans the modern-day

countries of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and, for some scholars, Egypt.

11. What happened during the first green revolution 1950-1970?

12. Saving millions of lives with its concentration on raising crop productivity through scientific

advances around improved inputs and farming techniques.

13. What happened during the second green revolution 1970-2000?

14. The Second Green Revolution is a change in agricultural production widely thought necessary

to feed and sustain the growing population on Earth.

15. What happened during the third green revolution 2000-today?

 16. The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of

technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural

production.

Part Two: Methods of agriculture

Did you know that wheat, rice, corn and potato provide more than half the food in the world?

1. What is industrialized agriculture?

2. Industrial agriculture is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production

of crops and animals and animal products like eggs or milk.

3. What is a plantation?

4. A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for

farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop.

5. What is traditional subsistence agriculture?

6. A traditional subsistence agriculture is agriculture that is done without the use of machines.

7. What is intensive agriculture?

8. Intensive agriculture involves the use of machines.

9. What is the difference between cropland and rangeland?

10. Cropland involves the planting of crops. Rangeland does not.

11. Explain the following methods:

-monoculture -shelterbelts
-crop rotation -tilling
-contour farming -slash and burn farming
-terracing - no till
-intercropping