Basic Agricultural Awareness

Agriculture defined

Activities concerned with the production of plants and animals, and related supplies, services, mechanics, products, processing, and marketing.

Agriculture defined

USDA refers to agriculture as “agriculture/agribusiness and renewable natural resources.”

Another definition is food, fiber, and environmental systems

www.usda.gov

Agriscience defined

Agriscience is the application of scientific principles and new technologies to agriculture.

Also called applied science because it uses principles learned in biology chemistry, and physics (the basic sciences) in a practical way.

Agriscience defined

Examples of Agriscience: Agronomy uses biology and chemistry to

discover new ways to control weeds in crops.

Entomology uses biology and chemistry to study insect life.

Agricultural engineering uses physics to develop new machinery.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Agriscience defined-scientific methodIdentify the problemReview the literatureForm a hypothesisPrepare a project proposalDesign the experimentCollect the data

Agriscience defined-scientific method

Draw conclusionsPrepare a written report

Agribusiness defined

Commercial firms (businesses) that stem from (or meet the needs of) agriculture

Agribusiness examples

Related to farming:Chemical company, fertilizer dealer,

seed store, tractor dealer, etc. Related to horticulture:

Landscape nursery, Greenhouse dealer, Horticulture Supply Company, etc.

Renewable natural resources

Resources provided by nature that can replace or renew themselves

Important both economically and for posterity’s sake to maintain life

Examples: wildlife, trees, fish

World outlook

The world population will grow as more people beget more peopleMore children are surviving to

adulthoodMore adults are living longer

World outlookPopulation growth will:

Add stress to environmental systems of air, water, soil, and natural resources

Create challenges to meet the demands for food and fiber (clothing and shelter)

TRENDS FOR AGRICULTURE IN THE

FUTURE

Trends for agriculture/agriscience

Agriculture will always be an essential industryIncreased commercialization of agriculture

will continueNew types of farming such as aquaculture

(fish-farming and farming the sea) will be used as well as traditional farming methods

Trends for agriculture/agriscience

An expanded view of agriculture is necessaryHorticulture will continue to expand

as the standard of living is raisedHorticulture involves producing,

processing, marketing fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants

Trends- viewsAgriculture includes renewable

natural resources management to monitor fish, wildlife, water and land

Agriculture and resources management will include pollution control

Trends-views

Forestry- timber management for lumber, poles, post, plywood, etc. is another part

Trends- food production, processing, and distribution

College graduates are needed to fill roles as scientists, engineers, and other professionals

The USDA reported an increased demand for graduates from agricultural colleges in the 90s

Trends- food

Many careers in Agriscience products and distribution are needed to grade, transport, process, package, and market Agriculture commodities

Trends- food

Support for Agricultural supplies and services are also important

PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURE

OBJ AG02.01

Progress Through Engineering

Little progress in agriculture is recorded before 1800 AD

The use of Iron revolutionized American and European agriculture

Most of the world did not catch on as fast

Progress Through Engineering

Mechanization helps 2% of America’s work force meet the food and fiber needs of our nation

There has been a reduction of 90% in production farming in the last 200 years

INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS

Eli Whitney Invented the cotton

gin 1793 Transformed cotton

to a usable product Removed cotton

seed from cotton fiber

Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin

Katherine Greene Widow of

Revolutionary general, Nathaniel Greene

Whitney worked on Ms. Greene’s farm

Some say Ms. Greene invented the cotton gin

Cyrus McCormick

Invented the grain reaper

1834 Cut grains

Cut wheat, oats, and other crops

Cutting Grain With the sickle

or reaping hook one man could cut from one-half to one acre in a hard day's work.

The cut grain was later bound by hand

The Reaper

The Reaper

While this first machine required only 2 people for operation (a person to ride the horse and a man to rake the cut grain from the platform), it cut as much grain in one day as 12-16 men with reaping hooks.

Cast Iron Plow

Invented in the early 1800’s

Thomas Jefferson

Rough surface that dirt stuck to

Steel Moldboard Plow

Invented 1837 John Deere Smoother surface Rich clay soil did not

stick to it Made plowing easier

and faster

Corn Picker Invented in 1850Edmund QuincyHelped speed

up the harvesting of corn

Milking Machine Invented in 1878Anna BaldwinUsed vacuum

suctionReplaced hand

milking

Tractor

Invented in 1904Benjamin HoltReplaced the

mule as a source of power Horse power

Opportunities in Agriculture

North Carolina Statistics:http://

www.agr.state.nc.us/stats/index.htm

Opportunities in Agriculture

Twenty percent of all jobs in the US are agriscience related. Areas include:ProductionProcessing, products and

distributionSupplies and services

Opportunities in AgricultureAgricultural production is supported by many more careers than actually exist in production

The projection is for the average size of farms in the US to increase while the number of farms decrease

Opportunities in AgricultureIn the mid 1990s, the number

one meat export as far as tonnage shipped from the US was poultryNC is #2 in nation on broiler

Corn ranks in the top 5 US grain exports year after year

Broilers per county.

Macon county shows no income from the sale of poultry.

North Carolina's agricultural industry, including food, fiber and forestry, contributes $59.1 billion annually to the State's economy, and accounts for 21.5 percent of the State's income, and employs over 18 percent of the work force. 

Opportunities in Agriculture

In NC, the top three agricultural commodities in terms of cash receipts in the late 1990s were hogs, broilers, and tobacco

http://www.photobar.com/tobacco.html

SOYBEANS??

WHAT IS THAT?

I AIN’T EATIN NO TOFU

SOYBEANS ARE THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT SOURCES OF VEGETABLE OIL AND PROVIDE BASIC MATERIALS FOR HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTS

THE GREEN REVOLUTION

A REVOLT BY AN ARMY OF GREEN MEN?!??

NO, THE GREEN REVOLUTION

The Green Revolution was the process where many countries became self-sufficient in food production by using improved crop varieties and practices.

The Green Industry * We are in the money now!

GREEN INDUSTRYHORTICULTURE INDUSTRY WITH

EMPHASIS ON TURF GRASS AND ORNAMENTAL AND LANDSCAPE PLANTS.

THE END