Agricultural/ Industrial

Agriculture (a term which encompasses farming) is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other goods by the systematic raising of plants and animals. more...

Home
Aeronautica
Agricultural/ Industrial
Automobilia
Bicycle
Bus/ Coach
Motorcycle/ Scooter
Nautical
Other Transportation
Railwayana
Tramway/ Light Rail
Transportation
Trucks/ Lorries/ Vans
Underground

Agri is from Latin ager, meaning "a field", and culture is from Latin cultura, meaning "cultivation" in the strict sense of tillage of the soil. A literal reading of the English word yields: tillage of the soil of a field. In modern usage, the word Agriculture covers all activities essential to food/feed/fiber production, including all techniques for raising and processing livestock. Agriculture is also short for the study of the practice of agriculture—more formally known as agricultural science. The history of agriculture is closely linked to human history, and agricultural developments have been crucial factors in social change, including the specialization of human activity.

42% of the world's laborers are employed in agriculture, making it by far the most common occupation. However, agricultural production accounts for less than 5% of the Gross World Product (an aggregate of all Gross Domestic Products).

Overview

"Oh Farmers, Pray That Your Summers Be Wet And Your Winters Clear." - Virgil

Farming refers to a wide range agricultural production work, covering a large spectrum of operation scales (acerage, output, etc), practices, and commercial inclination. At one end of this spectrum, the subsistence farmer farms a small area with limited resource inputs, and produces only enough food to meet the needs of his/her family.

At the other end of the spectrum is commercial intensive agriculture, including industrial agriculture. Such farming involves large fields and/or numbers of animals, large resource inputs (pesticides, and fertilizers, etc.), and a high level of mechanization. These operations generally attempt to maximize financial income from produce or livestock.

Modern agriculture extends well beyond the traditional production of food for humans and animal feeds. Other agricultural production goods include cut flowers, ornamental and nursery plants, timber, fertilizers, animal hides, leather, industrial chemicals (starch, sugar, ethanol, alcohols and plastics), fibers (cotton, wool, hemp, and flax), fuels (methane from biomass, biodiesel) and both legal and illegal drugs (biopharmaceuticals, tobacco, marijuana, opium, cocaine).

The 20th Century saw massive changes in agricultural practice, particularly in agricultural chemistry. Agricultural chemistry includes the application of chemical fertilizer, chemical insecticides (see Pest control), and chemical fungicides, soil makeup, analysis of agricultural products, and nutritional needs of farm animals. Beginning in the Western world, the green revolution spread many of these changes to farms throughout the world, with varying success.

Read more at Wikipedia.org