What is agricultural

Aquaculture—primarily the cultivation of fish and shellfish—was practiced in China, India, and Egypt thousands of years ago. It is now used in lakes, ponds, the ocean, and other bodies of water throughout the world.

Some forms of aquaculture, such as shrimp farming, have become important industries in many Asian and Latin American countries. Climate change and improved technology are altering the way freshwater and ocean fisheries operate. Global warming has pushed warm-water species toward the poles and reduced the habitats of cold-water species. Traditional fishing communities in both developed and developing countries find the number of fish dwindling.

Bottom trawling has affected ocean ecosystems. In bottom trawling, enormous nets are strung from fishing boats and dragged at the bottom of the ocean. The nets catch halibut and squid, but also stir up sediment at the bottom of the ocean. This disturbs the marine life plankton and algae that forms the basis of the food chain.

Genetic Modification For centuries, people have bred new types of plants and animals by random experimentation. During the s and s, scientists developed new strains of high-yield wheat and rice. They introduced them into Mexico and parts of Asia.

As a result, production of grain soared in these areas. This bold experiment in agriculture has been called the " Green Revolution. To produce high yields, the new strains required chemical fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation. In many developing countries, independent farmers cannot afford the new technology and big business has taken over agriculture.

The new, high-production crops also put stress on native plants and animals. Later, scientists and farmers understood why the new strains developed. This gave rise to a new green revolution: genetic modification of food. Inside every cell are genes, material that determines many of the characteristics of an organism.

Genetics is the study of what characteristics organisms inherit and how these traits are transmitted. With a greater knowledge of genetics, people can scientifically select characteristics they want to reproduce. New technology has revolutionized the selective breeding process in both plants and animals. Beginning in the s, scientists found that they could rearrange genes and add new ones to promote disease resistance, productivity, and other desired characteristics in crops and livestock.

Biotechnology allows scientists to alter the DNA of microbes, plants, and animals. The strawberry would be a transgenic plant.

Businesses sell farmers genetically modified seeds that resist certain pesticides and herbicides produced by the company. Herbicides kill weeds and other plants that threaten the crop. With these seeds, farmers can use toxic chemicals without harming the crop. Biotechnology has brought advances in animal husbandry ranching, or the raising of domestic animals.

Cattle, for example, are grazing animals. Their digestive system has evolved to process grasses and other crops. That makes it easier for dangerous bacteria such as E. Bacterial infections can be harmful to the cow, and can also infect their milk and meat consumed by people. Antibiotics are spliced into the DNA of feed corn to prevent such infection. Antibiotics have been used since the s to stimulate cattle growth.

Over time, this practice has led to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in cattle and people. Many cattle are also given anabolic steroids, or growth hormones, to make them get bigger, faster. The controversies surrounding GM foods are enormous.

Farmers who grow GM foods increase production with less labor and less land. Many consumers favor GM foods. Vegetables and fruits last longer and are less likely to bruise. Meats are fattier—more tender and salty. Critics argue that GM foods have less nutritional value and decrease biodiversity. The organic and "free-range" food industries have grown in opposition to "factory farming.

Many of them cultivate land as their ancestors did hundreds or even thousands of years ago. They do not use agricultural technology involving expensive chemicals or production methods. These people are subsistence farmers.

They use the bulk of the food they produce for themselves and their families, unlike commercial farmers, who only grow crops to sell. Methods of Cultivation Agricultural methods often vary widely around the world, depending on climate, terrain , traditions, and available technology. Low-technology farming involves permanent crops: food grown on land that is not replanted after each harvest. Citrus trees and coffee plants are examples of permanent crops.

Higher-technology farming involves crop rotation, which requires knowledge of farmable land. Scholars and engineers not only use crop rotation and irrigation, but plant crops according to the season, type of soil, and amount of water needed. In coastal West Africa, farmers, usually women, plant corn soon after the first rains of the growing season.

They often use an ancient method of clearing called slash-and-burn. First, the farmer cuts all the brush in her plot. When this vegetation dries, she sets fire to it. The heat from the fire makes the soil easy to turn, and the burned vegetation fertilizes it. Between rows of corn, the African farmer plants other staple crops: legumes, such as peas, or root vegetables, such as yams. This practice of growing several crops in the same plot is called intercropping.

By covering most of the ground with vegetation, intercropping prevents moisture loss and soil erosion from seasonal rains. Rain supplies water for the growing plants. The farmer weeds her plot with a hoe. At harvest time, she and her family pick the corn, husk it, and spread the ears in the sun to dry.

They grind the dried corn to make porridge. Traditionally, the African farmer uses the same plot for several years, until its fertility declines. Then she moves to another plot, leaving the first to lie fallow for up to 10 years. Now, an increasing population has caused fallow periods to be reduced and has made permanent cultivation more common. Agricultural methods used in the Corn Belt of the U. First of all, farmers rarely work alone—the size of American farms requires a lot of labor. Soon after they harvest the corn in autumn, farmers work leftover vegetation, or stubble, into the soil.

In the spring, farmers work the soil again, using an implement with rows of sharp-edged steel discs, called a disc harrow. The discs cut into the soil, breaking it into smaller pieces and supplying it with air. Next, a tractor-pulled planter sows rows of seed. The machine makes furrows in the soil, drops in kernels of high-yield, genetically modified corn, and covers them with dirt.

After the corn seeds have sprouted, another machine injects liquid fertilizer into the ground. The farmers then use chemicals to control weeds and pests, and loosen the soil with a tractor-pulled cultivator during the harvesting season.

The practice of specializing in a single crop is known as monoculture. To harvest the crop, farmers use a mechanical harvester that picks the ears of corn and shells them into a bin.

Little of the corn grown in the Corn Belt is for human consumption. Most of the corn grown in the U. Livestock From alpacas in Peru to zebus in India, billons of domesticated animals around the world are raised and cared for in a variety of ways.

In many countries, domesticated animals are an important source of food. In Nigeria, for example, the Fulani people have long been nomads. They move with their cattle herds from one grazing area to another.

The cattle feed on scrub and grasses in land unsuitable for farming. The Fulani rely on cattle for milk, but rarely slaughter their animals for meat. Throughout the U. When they are five to 12 months old, the animals are shipped to feedlots. There, they are kept in pens and fed grain and vitamin supplements until they reach market size. Then they are slaughtered. The two ways of raising livestock are confronting each other in the developing world. In Uganda, Ankole cattle have been bred to withstand the harsh climate of Central Africa—their long, curved horns help distribute heat and their digestive systems have adapted to poor nutrition and little water.

However, the market for milk has driven many Ugandan farmers to import Holstein cattle. Holsteins are native to Northern Europe. Keeping them healthy in an equatorial region requires a high amount of antibiotics, vaccines, and other chemicals. The Ankole, which produce little milk and leaner meat, may be extinct within the century. Many farmers throughout the world practice free-range poultry farming. The birds forage for food in farms or community yards, eating whatever they find: seeds, insects, household scraps, and surplus grain.

In many developed countries, poultry production has become a major agricultural industry. Birds are given the same sort of vaccines and hormones used for cattle. Chickens are bred for either eggs or meat. One poultry house may contain more than a million birds. Often, machines automatically provide feed and water, collect the eggs, and remove waste. Food production must keep pace with population growth and distribution methods. This is an enormous agricultural and political challenge.

The ratio of population to farmable land has favored some countries more than others. Some experts believe government policies in developed and developing countries have hindered equal food distribution. Droughts, floods, and other disasters continue to cause local food shortages.

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Learn More About agriculture. Time Traveler for agriculture The first known use of agriculture was in the 15th century See more words from the same century. Style: MLA. English Language Learners Definition of agriculture. Kids Definition of agriculture.

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