Agriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization A civilization is a complex society or culture group characterized by dependence upon agriculture, long-distance trade, state form of government, occupational specialization, urbanism, and class stratification. Aside from these core elements, civilization is often marked by any combination of a number of secondary elements, including a developed, with the husbandry Animal husbandry, also called animal science, stockbreeding or simple husbandry, is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock. It has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals of domesticated Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. A defining characteristic of domestication is artificial selection by humans. Some species such as the Asian Elephant, numerous members of which have for many centuries been used as animals Animals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently. All animals are also and plants (i.e. crops A crop is the annual or season's yield of any plant that is grown in significant quantities to be harvested as food, as livestock fodder, fuel, or for any other economic purpose. This category includes crop species as well as agricultural techniques related to cropping) creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key geographic term and stratified In sociology and other social sciences, social stratification refers to the hierarchical arrangement of individuals into divisions of power and wealth within a society. The term most commonly relates to the socio-economic concept of class, involving the "classification of persons into groups based on shared socio-economic conditions ... a societies. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture.
Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialties and techniques, including ways to expand the lands suitable for plant raising, by digging water-channels and other forms of irrigation. Cultivation In agriculture, cultivation is the process of growing plants on arable land. It is usually associated with large-scale agriculture, as opposed to small-scale gardening. Crop cultivation requires fertile soil, water (from irrigation or precipitation), and seeds. Cultivation involves the sowing of the seeds in the appropriate season. In the process of crops on arable land In geography, arable land is an agricultural term, meaning land that can be used for growing crops. It is distinct from cultivated land and includes jungles that are not currently used for human purposes. Arable land covers an area of approximately 12 million square miles (31 million square kilometres).[unreliable source?][where?][when?] and the pastoral Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, sheep, and so forth. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and water herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group , maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. While the layperson uses the term "herding", most individuals involved in the process term it mustering, "working stock" or droving of livestock Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food or fiber, or labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning of "livestock" is common on rangeland Rangeland refers to expansive, mostly unimproved lands on which a significant proportion of the natural vegetation is native grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, and shrubs. Rangeland also consists of areas seeded to native or adapted introduced species that are managed like native vegetation. Rangelands include natural grasslands, savannas, remain at the foundation of agriculture. In the past century there has been increasing concern to identify and quantify various forms of agriculture. In the developed world the range usually extends between sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. These goals have been defined by a variety of disciplines and may be looked at from the vantage point of the farmer or the consumer (e.g. permaculture Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and perennial agricultural systems that mimics the relationships found in natural ecologies. It was first developed by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren and their associates during the 1970s in a series of publications. The word permaculture is a portmanteau of permanent or organic agriculture Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and control pests, excluding or strictly limiting the use of synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives, and) and intensive farming Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is an agricultural production system characterized by the high inputs of capital, labour, or heavy usage of technologies such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers relative to land area (e.g. industrial agriculture Industrial agriculture is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops. The methods of industrial agriculture are technoscientific, economic, and political. They include innovation in agricultural machinery and farming methods, genetic technology, techniques for achieving economies of).
Modern agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of using plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology, chemistry, ecology, earth science, and genetics. Agronomists today are involved, plant breeding, pesticides A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest.[clarification needed] A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substance intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest. A pesticide may be a chemical substance, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest. Pests and fertilizers They are usually applied directly onto the soil, but can also be applied onto leaves . The main nutrients added in fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium but other nutrients are added in smaller amounts. Fertilizers can be either organic (e.g. manure) or inorganic (mined or synthesized chemically). Organic fertilizers and some mined, and technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation, and at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects.[1] Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry such as intensive pig farming Intensive piggeries are a type of factory farm specialized in the raising of domestic pigs up to slaughter weight. In this system of pig production, grower pigs are housed indoors in group-housing or straw-lined sheds, whilst pregnant sows are confined in sow stalls (gestation crates) and give birth in farrowing crates (and similar practices applied to the chicken The chicken is a domesticated fowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other bird. Humans keep chickens primarily as a source of food, consuming both their meat and their eggs) have similarly increased the output of meat Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, or lungs. The word meat is also used by the meat packing industry in a more restrictive sense—the flesh of mammalian species raised and, but have raised concerns about animal cruelty Cruelty to animals is the infliction of suffering or harm upon animals, other than humans, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or fur use. Diverging viewpoints are held by jurisdictions throughout the world and the health effects of the antibiotics In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills, or inhibits the growth of, bacteria. Antibiotics belong to the broader group of antimicrobial compounds, used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungi and protozoa.[citation needed], growth hormones Growth hormone is a protein-based poly-peptide hormone. It stimulates growth and cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. It is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide hormone that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior pituitary gland. Somatotropin refers to, and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production.[2]
The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol. Although many human cultures sought food items, fibers Fiber, also spelled fibre, is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread. They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together. Human uses for fibers are diverse. They can be spun into filaments, string or rope, used as a component, fuels Fuel is any material that is burned or altered to obtain energy and to heat or to move objects. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. An important property of a useful fuel is that its energy can be stored to be released only when needed,, and raw materials A raw material is something that is acted upon or used by or by human labor or industry, for use as a building material to create some product or structure.[citation needed] Often the term is used to denote material that came from nature and is in an unprocessed or minimally processed state. Iron ore, logs, and crude oil, would be examples. A non-. In the 2000s, plants have been used to grow biofuels Biofuels – liquid fuels derived from plant materials – are entering the market, driven by factors such as oil price spikes and the need for increased energy security, biopharmaceuticals Biopharmaceuticals are medical drugs produced using biotechnology. They are proteins (including antibodies), nucleic acids (DNA, RNA or antisense oligonucleotides) used for therapeutic or in vivo diagnostic purposes, and are produced by means other than direct extraction from a native (non-engineered) biological source, bioplastics Bioplastics or organic plastics are a form of plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable oil, corn starch, pea starch, or microbiota, rather than fossil-fuel plastics which are derived from petroleum. Some, but not all, bioplastics are designed to biodegrade,[3] and pharmaceuticals.[4] Specific foods include cereals Cereals, grains or cereal grains, are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their fruit seeds (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis) - the endocarp, germ and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple crops. In their natural, vegetables A vegetable is an edible plant or part of a plant. However, the word is not scientific, and its meaning is largely based on culinary and cultural tradition. Therefore, the application of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. For example, some people consider mushrooms to be vegetables, while others consider them a separate food category, fruits The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from fruits, and meat Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, or lungs. The word meat is also used by the meat packing industry in a more restrictive sense—the flesh of mammalian species raised and. Fibers Fiber, also spelled fibre, is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread. They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together. Human uses for fibers are diverse. They can be spun into filaments, string or rope, used as a component include cotton Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the most widely used natural-, wool The term wool is usually restricted to describing the fibrous protein derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles in sheep, hemp Hemp is the name of the soft, durable fiber that is cultivated from plants of the Cannabis genus, cultivated for industrial and commercial (non-drug) use, silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity . The shimmering appearance of silk is due to the triangular prism-like structure of the silk fiber which allows silk cloth to refract and flax Flax (binomial name: Linum usitatissimum) is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. This is called as Agasi/Akshi in Kannada, Jawas/Javas (जवस) or Alashi (अळशी) in Marathi. Flax was. Raw materials A raw material is something that is acted upon or used by or by human labor or industry, for use as a building material to create some product or structure.[citation needed] Often the term is used to denote material that came from nature and is in an unprocessed or minimally processed state. Iron ore, logs, and crude oil, would be examples. A non- include lumber and bamboo. Other useful materials are produced by plants, such as resins Resin is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. It is valued for its chemical constituents and uses, such as varnishes and adhesives, as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis, or for incense and perfume. Fossilized resins are the source of amber. Resins are also a material in nail polish. Biofuels include methane Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CH4. It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees. Burning methane in the presence of oxygen produces carbon dioxide and water. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel. However, because it is a gas at from biomass Biomass, a renewable energy source, is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat. For example, forest residues , yard clippings and wood chips may be used as biomass. However, biomass also includes, ethanol Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug, best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and in modern thermometers. Ethanol is one of the oldest recreational drugs. In common usage, it is often referred to simply as, and biodiesel. Cut flowers, nursery plants, tropical fish and birds for the pet trade are some of the ornamental products.
In 2007, about one third of the world's workers were employed in agriculture. The services sector has overtaken agriculture as the economic sector employing the most people worldwide.[5] Despite the size of its workforce, agricultural production accounts for less than five percent of the gross world product (an aggregate of all gross domestic products).
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The Government is under more pressure to decide the fate of the controversial Mackenzie Basin cubicle dairy farming proposals. ...
Environment Commissioner steps into dairy debate Radio New Zealand
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By farming organically we are managing our property in a sustainable way We continue to improve our soil fertility with the addition of compost and the use of mulching for weed
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Image of . farming. and chemicals from the landscape & rural photos of Stovepipe.
Q. Which ethical principles or ideals are the most useful to assess the ethics of factory farming? (For example, do farm animals possess a basic right not to live or die in agony? Why or why not?) Which facts about factory farms are the most important for making an ethical assessment?
Asked by bern - Tue Mar 25 07:45:26 2008 - - 1 Answers - 1 Comments
A. a few sites for you to consider ...
Answered by Indiana Frenchman - Tue Mar 25 07:54:54 2008
