What Is Agriculture?

DEFINITION The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products

North America Machinery Land under Cultivation Increased Cultivation Shift from animal labor to machinery has created a dependency on fossil fuel energy As the price of oil increases, so does the price of food production Land under Cultivation ¼ total land of lower 48 states is “agricultural land” Conservation Reserve Program: Reimburses farmers for retiring erosion prone land and planting it with trees or glasses Fertilizers and Pesticides More convenient to use, and more available than manure When levels of fertilizers are too high, the excess are washed away resulting in groundwater and surface water pollution Pests have become resistant to many of the pesticides Many have not been tested and may cause genetic defects in humans

South America Example: Brazil One-eighth of South America’s land is suitable for permanent cropping or grazing Agriculture accounts for 8% of the country's GDP, and employs about one-quarter of the labor force products: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef 145 and 170 million hectares (402 million acres) could be opened for crop production = 25% percent larger than the total crop acreage of the U.S. Cattle Ranching

Europe The 2nd largest global exporter and the biggest importer Mechanized Agriculture: machines replace humans = more efficient Land is left uncovered by vegetation, and soil erosion increases Because farm equipment is expensive, farmers specify in one crop = lack variety

Africa Soil is not fertile = food production is lacking Use mineral fertilizers to replenish nutrient, but it is 2-6X more expensive than U.S Shifting Agriculture: cutting down and burning down trees to release nutrients, allowing crops to be raised

Asia Terracing: level areas constructed at right angles to the slope to retain water and reduce erosion Irrigation: Adding water to an agricultural fields to allow crops to grow where a lack of water would normally prevent their cultivation Meat consumption in China is growing 10% each year Less arable land than U.S. but 5x the population 21% of World population, only 75 of arable land China has become the world’s largest importer of fertilizer Farmland is decreasing .5% each year

Australia Home to 28 million cattle = World’s Largest Beef Exporter Mix of irrigation and dry-land farming Because of Australia's large deserts and irregular rainfall, irrigation is necessary for agriculture in some parts of the country  technique for non-irrigated cultivation of land which receives little natural rainfall