What are Agricultural Production Regions? (College Board AP® Human Geography)

Agricultural production regions are areas of the world where specific types of agriculture are dominant

These regions are influenced by:

• climate

• soil type and quality

• available technology

• prevailing local economic systems and cultural norms

Farming can roughly be divided into two types: subsistence and commercial

• Subsistence agriculture is farming primarily for the farmer’s self, family, or community, with little or no surplus produced for trade 

• Subsistence agriculture is most common in less developed countries (LDCs), is labor intensive, and is characterized by the presence of small farms

  • Examples of subsistence farming include slash and burn agriculture in tropical regions and pastoral nomadism in arid regions

• Commercial agriculture is farming primarily for sale and profit rather than personal consumption

• Commercial agriculture is more common in more developed countries (MDCs). It tends to be mechanized and therefore relies more on machine technology than manual labor

• Commercial agriculture is characterized by the presence of large farms

  • Examples of commercial agriculture include grain farming in the United States Midwest and dairy farming in Northern Europe

Monoculture refers to planting only one crop in a field at any given time

• A farmer may choose to grow only strawberries in a field, rather than a combination of plants

Monocropping refers to the planting of only one crop year after year

• A farmer may only ever grow strawberries in a field every year, never replacing it with a different, single crop

• Monocropping is a more extreme form of monoculture in which crops are never rotated

Monocropping may be beneficial because it increases productivity

Negative consequences of monocropping include:

• soil degradation

• loss of biodiversity

• increases the risk of plant death due to pests or viruses due to the lack of biodiversity

Crop rotation and intercropping are potential strategies for addressing the negative effects of monocropping

The price of land corresponds to intensive and extensive agricultural practices

Bid-rent theory is a theory in human geography that argues that price and demand for land change as the distance from the central business district (CBD) increases

• The theory proposes that land closer to the CBD will be more in demand, and therefore more expensive because more people will want to have access to markets in the CBD

In agricultural areas, bid-rent theory applies to the cost of land in relation to its distance from the market

• In this theory, land closer to city centers will be more expensive and more suitable for intensive agricultural practices

• Intensive agriculture relies on smaller plots of land and should be closer to the city center or market because of the perishable nature of products, such as flowers, or fresh fruits and vegetables

• Extensive agriculture needs large areas of land and will be practiced further from the city center on land that costs less per unit of land

• Intensive agricultural practices will take place closer to the city center, such as:

  • truck farming

  • dairy farming

  • market gardening 

• Extensive agricultural practices will take place further from the city center, such as:

  • ranching

  • grain farming