“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.

A “polder” is a piece of farmland that has been reclaimed from water. They are usually from flooded plains, marshes, or—more recently—the sea. This is important for sustaining agricultural growth in regions of the world that are low-lying and easily flooded.

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.”

“Crop rotation” is a system developed during the Second Agricultural Revolution in order to preserve the mineral health of soil used in agriculture and prevents patches of land from being exhausted. The idea is that by growing different crops, in the same soil, in the different seasons the soil can be preserved for a much longer period of time than it otherwise might be. The reasons for this are numerous and complicated, but the simplest explanation is that different crops drain the soil of different minerals and, additionally, replenish the soil with different nutrients.

“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.

“Polders” have long been associated with the Netherlands. A “polder” is a piece of farming land that has been reclaimed from water, either from the sea or from flooded plains and marshes. It was particularly crucial in Dutch history due to the fact that the Netherlands is an extremely low-lying country with almost no elevated terrain above sea level.

“Winter wheat” is a type of wheat crop that is planted in the late fall that stops growing during the winter before resuming growing in the spring. It is generally harvested in the early summer.

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.

“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.

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.