Comprehensive Agriculture History, Industry, and Technology Overview

Before Agriculture period

No farming, poor nutrition and health, and a reliance on learning to fish and hunt for survival.

Bronze & Iron Ages agricultural developments

Faster farming techniques, crop irrigation, and a significant population rise from 3 million to 100 million.

Middle Ages agricultural practices

Crop rotation and selective breeding.

American society in the 1700s

It was an agrarian society, with 90% of the population's economy relying heavily on agricultural production.

Agribusiness (Davis & Goldberg, 1957)

The sum total of all operations involved in the manufacture and distribution of farm supplies; production operation on the farm; and the storage, processing and distribution of the resulting farm commodities and items.

Agribusiness (Ewell Roy, 1980)

The coordinating science of supplying agricultural production inputs and subsequently producing, processing, and distributing food and fiber.

Agriscience

The application of science and technology to agriculture.

20th century productivity increase

Through gains in efficiency measured by the ratio of outputs to inputs, specialization, and the substitution of capital (K) for labor (L), which led to highly mechanized farms.

U.S. Food and Agribusiness Industry significance

It is the world's largest, accounting for $1 trillion (13% of GDP) and employing approximately 23 million people (17% of the nation's workforce).

Three main sectors of the agricultural supply chain

1. Input Supply Sector 2. Production/Farm Sector 3. Processing and Distribution Sector

Role of the Input Supply Sector

It supplies inputs for agricultural production, such as seed, fertilizer, pesticides, and machinery.

Production/Farm Sector

This sector includes farmers, ranchers, and fishers involved in growing and harvesting raw food items.

Key characteristic of farm size in the U.S.

Large farms dominate production.

Processing and Distribution Sector

This is the largest contributor to agricultural value added (63%).

Globalization in agribusiness

The process by which businesses develop international influence, characterized by the growing integration of economies and societies around the world.

Trade Barriers

Measures that governments introduce to make imported goods or services less competitive than locally produced ones.

Biotechnology

The manipulation of a living organism's genetic endowment to produce beneficial products.

Arguments surrounding Biotechnology

Proponents argue it leads to better, healthier, and cheaper food. Opponents raise concerns about severe food allergies and environmental damage.

Precision Farming

A new farming approach that completely integrates information technology (like GIS/GPS) and agricultural production.

E-agriculture

The exchange of information, ideas, and resources to promote sustainable agriculture and rural development.

Comparative Advantage

This exists when the opportunity cost of specialization (producing a good) is lower for one nation than for others.

Factor Endowment

The amount of land, labor, and entrepreneurship that a country possesses and can use for manufacturing and production.