Post on 26-Mar-2015
Commercial Agriculture
Where & why there.
Commercial Agriculture:Characteristics
• Food is NOT consumed on farm• Food produced is for sale, sometimes thousands of miles from
where it is produced
ex: grapes grown in Chile consumed in US, soy beans from Brazil to China
• Generally less labor intensive than subsistence ag
• Fertilizers and machinery necessary to produce large quantities of food
• Generally practiced in developed countries, one exception is plantation agriculture
Mixed livestock & crop farming + dairying
• These two commercial ag practices are less extensive than wheat farming and cattle ranching
• They are practiced in mid-latitude regions in developed countries in climates that get at least 20 inches of precipitation per year
• They are generally located closer to the market
Mixed livestock and grain = grain by the farmer is used to feed animals such as cattle and hogs.
The animals are sold for profit
Extensive Commercial Agriculture:
Cereal grains, livestock ranching, plantation ag.
• Extensive = large amount of land to produce a profit.
• Wheat farming, livestock ranching take place in arid/semi-arid climates in developed parts of the world
• Generally, land has to be less expensive so the farmer can afford to farm large areas to produce a profit.
• Distance from markets is often large - most grains easy and cheap to store and transport
Plantation Agriculture
• Is generally extensive in terms of the size of the farm, but may be intensive due to use of manual labor to maintain and harvest the crop
• Many plantations are located in developing countries (LCDs), but are owned by large corporations and their products are used in the developed world
• Tea, sugar cane, coffee, cacao, cotton, rubber, tobacco, etc.
• Often plantation ag takes place in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world
Market Gardening (truck farming)
• Is the most intensive form of commercial agriculture
• Often the produce is harvested by hand
• Generally takes place near the market as the product is perishable and may be expensive to transport (although this is changing due to technology)
• In the US major market garden regions are found along the coasts
Marijuana
Coca(for cocaine)
IllicitAgriculture
Opium poppy(for heroin)
Commercial Ag Summary