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