Commercial Agricultural Practices
Tertiary Economic Activities
- Economic activities that focus the sale of goods and services in return for payment. -Jobs: Waiters, Chefs, grocery stores/managers, truck drivers, distributors, etc. (anything involved in sale of food/product)
Mediterranean Farming
- Takes place on lands that border the Mediterranean sea (W. Asia, S. Europe, N. Africa) as well as California, Central Chile, SW South Africa and Australia. Border a sea, have moisture & moderate winter temps; summers hot and dry; land=hilly & mountains plunge into the sea
Quinary Economic Activities
- Top level decision and policy maker - Jobs: CEO, government officials
Quaternary Economic Activities
- economic activities that focus on sharing specific information. Lawyers, financial advisors, consulting, research and development - Jobs: Food Scientists, GMO creators
Secondary Economic Activities
- manufacturing of primary products into new products; consumer or manufactured goods, food processing; - Jobs: Processors of food, manufacturers
Primary Economic Activities
- products closest to the ground: agriculture, fishing, mining, logging, etc. -the actual 'extraction' of objects from the ground; done in both MDCs and LDCs
Economic Sectors
5 sectors of the economy where the jobs associated within each sector have common characteristics
Horizontal Integration
A company that controls a significant percentage of an economic sector for a specific commodity.
Wheat Belt
A region where wheat is the chief agricultural product (Great Plains)
Commercial Farming
Agriculture primarily undertaken to generate products for sale off the farm
Truck Farming
Commercial gardening; name comes from the MIddle Ages when people traded local produce for services and other needs. Today, this refers to specialty agriculture such as fruits and vegetables.
CAFOS
Concentrated animal feeding operations- large structures where animals are being raised in high density numbers
Livestock Ranching
Livestock ranching is the raising of cattle for beef. Form of agriculture practiced in MDCs where vegetation is too sparse & soil too poor a form of commercial agriculture in which livestock graze over an extensive area
Dairy Farming
Most important commercial agricultural practice on farms near large urban areas of the Northeastern States, Southeastern Canada and Northwestern Europe -The distance the farm is away from an urban area mainly determines which products they will produce
Corn Belt
Name of parts of the US Midwest where corn is a major crop (esp. IL & IA)
Grain Farming
The growing of wheat, corn, barley, rye, oats, soybeans... Requires a lot of arable land.
Commercial Gardening
The intensive production of nontropical fruits, vegetables, and flowers for sale off the farm. Generally found in Southeastern U.S. where there is a long growing season which includes adequate sunshine warmth, and precipitation.
Vertical Integration
a company that controls several economic sectors for a specific product or service
Mixed Crops and Livestock Farming
a farming method that involves the integration of crops and livestock. Most crops fed to animals & in return provide mature & improved soil to allow more crops to grow
Economy of Scale
a proportionate saving in costs gained by an increased level of production through new technologies and efficient practices
Commodity
a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee.
Commodity Chain
series of links connecting the many places of production and distribution and resulting in a product that is then exchanged on the world market
Milkshed
the distance around a market that represents how far the milk can travel before it spoils. This distance has increased from 30 miles during the early 1800s to over 300 miles today due to better forms of transportation - refrigerated trucks.
Horticulture
the growing of fruits, vegetables and flowers
Agribusiness
the production of food at a variety of levels (growing, harvesting, processing, distribution, sale & decision making