Commercial Farming

Definition: Plantation farming is aform

Commercial farmers produce of commercial farming
their crops to sell them in the Mainly practiced in less
marketplace developed countries

Commercial farming types

include mixed crop and
livestock farming, ranching,
dairying, and large-scale
grain production
Mixed Crop and Livestock
farming
Definition
Involves a farm that grows cropsand
raises animals
Most crops grown on mixed farms
are used to feed the farm’sanimals
Provides manure fertilizer for saleas
well as goods
Most of mixed farm’sincome comes
from sale of its animalproducts
Reduces farmer’s dependence on
seasonal crops
Devotes nearly all land to crops but
3/4ths of income comes from sale of
animal products
Exists widely throughout Europeand
Eastern Northern America
Usually farms are near large, urban
areas
Most mixed farms practice crop
rotation
Definition
Commercial grazing, or the raisingof
animals on a plot of land on which
they graze
Ranching is usually extensive
Cattle and sheep are most
common animals on ranches
Practiced in areas where the
climate is too dry to support
crops
Semi-arid, arid land
Western U.S, Argentina, southern
Brazil, and Uruguay
In U.S. part of pop culture
Also on coast of Latin Americaand
Northern Mexico
Declining in importance
Began declining in U.S. in 1880s
Partly because of low grain pricesand
because of U.S. meat quality
standards
Many U.S. ranches are being
converted into “fattening” farms
Definition
Growth of milk-basedproducts
for the marketplace
Dairy farms closest to the
marketplace usually produce
the most perishable, fluid-
milk products
while those father away
produce goods such as cheese
and butter
Most economically
productive type of
commercial agriculture
practiced near cities in the
northeastern U.S,
southeastern Canada, and
northwestern Europe
Dairy Farms usually very Growth in transportation
small and capital intensive technology has increased
Uses a lot of machinery in the area of the milkshed
farming process Improved technology and
Labor-intensive uses more feeding systems have led to
human labor increases in the amount of
milk produced per cow
The milkshed is the zone
around the city’s center in
which milk can be produced
and shipped to the
marketplace without
spoiling
Definition
Where the grains are most
often grown to be exported to
other places for consumption
Wheat is the dominant grain
on large-scale grain farms
World’s largest export crop
Common in Canada, U.S.,
Argentina, Australia, France,
England, and the Ukraine
U.S. largest grain producer
Within North America,
large-scale grain
production is concentrated
within three areas
Winter-wheat belt
Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma
Spring-wheat belt
Dakotas, Montana, Southern
Saskatchewan Canada
Palouse region
Washington State
Large-scale grain farms grew
during Industrial Revolution
Farms are usually highly mechanized,
capital-intensive operations

Several technological innovations

precipitated the growth of large-
scale grain farming:
McCormick Reaper 1830s
Cuts standing grain in the field
Combine Machine
Completes all three processes:
Reaping, threshing, and cleaning
Definition
Involves large-scale farming
operations that specialize in farming
of one or two high-demand crops for
export, usually to more developed
regions
Called plantations or agricultural
estates

Introduced in tropical and

subtropical zones by European
colonizers
Seeking to produce crops suchas:
Coffee, tea, pineapples, palms,
coconuts, rubber, tobacco, sugarcane,
and cotton
Today, plantation farming is
largely reflective of globalpower
structures
Most exist in low-latitude regionsof
Africa, Asia, and Latin America

Most owned by companies from

more developed countries
Often take the best land fromnatives

Most plantations exist in a

location that has easycoastal
access for export
Through modern plantations
have integrated advanced
technology, still labor-
intensive
Large number of seasonal
workers used

Form of plantation
agriculture remains in the
subtropical and tropical U.S.
Migrant workers used for labor
Predominant type of
agriculture in the Southeast
United States
Region has a long growing
season and humid climate and
is accessible to the large
markets
New York, Philly, Washington D.C.
Highly efficient large-scale
operations
Labor costs kept down by
hiring migrant workers
Many undocumented

Often called “truck farming”

Truck means “bartering or
exchange of commodities”
Grow fruits andvegetables
Sold fresh to consumers