5.6 Agricultural Production Regions

Agricultural practices and land-use are largely dependent on economic factors, including where subsistence or commercial practices exist depending on the region and the practice of intensive or extensive farming based on land costs. 

Subsistence Farming

Subsistence farming tends to occur in LDCs (less developed countries), where farmers tend to focus on producing food for themselves rather than for profit. They grow crops and raise animals to provide food for themselves and their family in order to survive and aren’t intended to be sold in markets. 

Commercial Farming

Commercial farming, as you may guess by the name, is the production of products for sale, unlike subsistence farming. Because of the nature of this practice, commercial farming is usually found in more developed countries, where farmers have access to machinery to increase efficiency and production. 

Monocropping/Monoculture

(Key term related to this section)

• Growing a single crop repeatedly on the same land every year (rather than rotating through other crops or growing a variety of crops on one piece of land) 

• Corn, soybeans, and wheat use monocropping as a common technique

Bid-Rent Theory 

The Bid-Rent Theory is essentially a model that tries to explain the varying price and demand for land relative to the CBD (Central Business District). According to the theory, land closer to the CBD will have more competition for it because businesses will want to maximize profit.

Key Points

• Commerce will situate in the inner core of the city 

• Will pay higher rent for the “prime spot” 

• Greater accessibility = more opportunity to attract a large population to their businesses 

• Industry will situate further away from the CBD 

• They need more land for a lower price/rent  

• Want low price without being too far removed from the marketplace 

• Residentials 

• Don’t care as much about the market → more about how much they can pay for the commuting distance 

• The poor reside closer to the city to get to their jobs easily 

• Assumptions of the theory 

• The land is featureless (i.e. no physical land features that could impact the cost or time or commuting) 

• Cost of rent increases directly with the distance from the CBD 

• Most centers for employment are located in the CBd while the rest is spread throughout the metropolitan area

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