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Farming engaged in as a large-scale business operation embracing the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products and the manufacture of farm machinery, equipment, and supplies.
Ex:
Monsanto Farms is a major agribusiness corporation, developing GMO foods consumed worldwide. |
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The science, art, and business of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock; farming.
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Most food consumed today is a product of commercial agriculture. |
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The science, art, and business of cultivating marine or freshwater food fish or shellfish, such as oysters, clams, salmon, and trout, under controlled conditions. This term could also refer to hydroponic plant cultivation.
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Most food fish on sale today have been grown in fish farms-aquaculture at work. |
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A postulate by Danish economist Ester Boserup that agricultural methods depend on the size of the population. The larger the world population grows, the more innovations are made to make feeding the expanding population possible.
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n/a |
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The production of crops where the main goal is to turn a profit.
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All the food that is purchasable at the grocery store is a product of commercial agriculture. |
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The practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons, in order to lessen soil nutrient depletion.
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This technique is employed in ALL farms worldwide. |
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An agricultural enterprise where the primary goal is long-term milk production.
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As the world population booms, this sort of farm is being more and more prevalent. |
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The process by which animals become accustomed to human provision and control.
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Dogs and cats were some of the first animals to be domesticated. |
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The practice of growing two crops in the same space during one growing season.
Ex:
Tomatoes, onions, and marigolds are commonly planted together, as the marigolds help ward off pests from the tomato and onion cash crops. |
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This is the stage of crop rotation in which the land is left uncultivated.
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n/a |
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An animal feeding operation, prevalent in factory farms, whose primary goal is to drastically fatten mature animals prior to slaughter.
Ex:
The world's biggest feedlots are located in the USA, containing hundreds of thousands of cows! |
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The first agricultural revolution was the discovery of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent of Asia, 14,000 years ago. The second agricultural revolution was the industrialization of farming in Europe, during the 17th century. The third agricultural revolution was the introduction of genetic engineering into farming, which started worldwide in the late 20th century.
Ex:
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| Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) |
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An organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.
Ex:
GloFish, GM fluorescent fish, are the first GMOs to be sold as pets. |
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A pre-industrial model of agricultural land use where intensive farming is directly outside the city, forest is directly outside the intensive farming area, field crops are directly outside the forest area, and ranching is located directly outside the field crop area.
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A series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives that increased worldwide agricultural production from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Ex:
Pesticides gained prevalence during this period. |
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The process of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.
Ex:
Fresh vegetables have been grown in space using this technique. |
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The industry and science of plant cultivation.
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GMOs are a product of a fusion of horticulture and genetic engineering. |
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| Intensive subsistence agriculture |
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The efficient cultivation of small land holdings through the expenditure of great amounts of labor.
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This is prevalent in densely populated countries such as India and China, since it "grows more food with less land." |
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The practice of planting taller, stronger crops to shelter lower, more fragile ones from tropical downpours
Ex:
This mimics the natural structure of the rainforest. |
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High-priced, relatively rare crops which are inessential to human survival.
Ex:
Tobacco |
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The relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. A wide variety of crops grown in a small space.
Ex:
The "organic, local" food movement is centered around market gardening. |
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| Mediterranean agriculture |
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An agro-ecological strategy catering to the warm, dry summers and mild winters of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
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This strategy is commonly used in California, and is particularly receptive to fruit and grain growing. |
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A region producing milk for a specific community.
Ex:
The rural areas surrounding Denver comprise Denver's milkshed. |
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The first agricultural revolution. See "Agricultural Revolutions" card for more details.
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n/a |
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A form of agriculture where livestock are herded either seasonally or continuously in order to find fresh pastures on which to graze.
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The few traditional Native Americans in existence practice this. |
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A large artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale.
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This was very prevalent in the American South in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. |
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The right, by law or custom, of the first-born male to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings and females.
Ex:
The Puss in Boots fable exemplifies primogeniture. |
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The practice of raising grazing livestock for meat or wool.
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With the advent of widespread meat consumption, ranching has become very popular among farmers. |
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A technique where equipment is used to move soil so the crop row is slightly elevated, resulting in improved drainage and exposure to the sun.
Ex:
Ridge tillage is fairly common in American farms. |
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An agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned due to soil infertility.
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This was very prevalent until the discovery of crop rotation. Now, shifting cultivation is prevalent only in LDCs. |
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The cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields for agriculture or pasture for livestock, or for a variety of other purposes.
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This is very prevalent with the South American rainforest. |
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A form of financial assistance paid to a business or economic sector.
Ex:
American corn subsidies are to blame for the proliferation of ethanol fuel and GMO corn. |
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Agriculture practiced primarily in order to feed one's own family.
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Most farming in LDCs is of this sort. |
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The practice of farming using ecological, non-destructive principles.
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Stores like Whole Foods have popularized the sustainable agriculture movement. |
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An influential British scholar, famous for his theories on demography and political economy.
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n/a |
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A dilemma arising from the situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource even when it is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen.
Ex:
The petroleum trade. We are trying to conserve our oil supplies, but we will run out... |
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The seasonal movement of people with their livestock over relatively short distances, typically to higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter.
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This is a major practice in Ireland, thanks to the relatively harsh winters. |
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A larger-scale version of market farming.
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n/a |
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A management style where companies in a supply chain are united through a common owner. Each member supplies a product, and all of the products are combined to satisfy a common need.
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Co-operative farming largely operates under this principle. |
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The cultivation of rice by planting on dry land, transferring the seedlings to a flooded field, and draining the field before harvesting.
Ex:
This is very prevalent in India and China through the usage of paddy fields. |
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