Do you think Agriculture is important? What are your concerns?

Question

Im writing a paper on agriculture and I'm trying to get a general feeling about how people view agriculture. If they think about it or not. I know I never really did when growing up.

Answer 1

it is important. very.

a concern - the area in California that produces so much produce for the US   has flood levees ( like in New Orleans) that are both out of date, decaying, and not able to withstand a serious flood anymore.    Imagine a Katrina level flood - we would loose some of the richest farmland in America for years.

Answer 2

Without Agriculture you would not have the food that is available in your local shop!

Infact man would not have developed to the stage that we are at now.

The key thing is that we need to look at how we produce our food as the way that the country is farmed there is not a true ballance.

If we was to look at agricultural practices up until the early 20th century fields were rotated & there was far more mixed farms. These days a field will be planted with wheat in october. This grows untill it is harvested in the following august, then its left to fallow until the following spring where it will be planted up with spring barley.

The old way would be that the field would be planted up with grass and then the following year cattle or sheep would graze it. so the field would get a rest & also the fertilised by the cattle or sheep.

I studied farmin back in the 1980's but could not find work in the industry because of the BSE issue, and I ended up working in banks for 8 years. I now work for the railways.

I hope that my answer helps.

Answer 3

Your question actually shocked me when I read it. But it made me think. Part of the problems agriculture are having today are probably because our agriculture has been so successful that it has made life too easy for people today. A person who is well dressed and well fed may never give a thought to where the food and clothing came from. Everything you eat and almost everything you wear comes from agriculture. Do I think agriculture is important? Yes, and I hope people never have to go hungry to realize just how important it is. As a farming person, I take it as a compliment that you were able to grow up without giving agriculture a thought. Have a nice day and I am happy that you are thinking about agriculture now.

Answer 4

I think Agriculture is Really cool and  next year im gonna take AG1 and Ag is one of the most popular classes at my school any way getting back to your question. People are always learning new things like in the bio tech area they can now make glow in the dark mice when they feel like it and Did you know that ag makes up most of the jobs in the USA I mean in almost every area of jobs you can choose from i mean you have the USDA and farmers and slotter houses (not really a big fan of those) and distrabution centers and all different kinds of stuf. now we can even make fuel with corn and spray round up on certain types of corn without harming it that just shows you how far weve come when it comes to Genetic engeineering and thats just one area of Agriculture

Answer 5

Wow it is hard for me not to think of agriculture as i farm but this is a good question i have never thought that people dont think about it I hope everyone will stop and think about agriculture because it provides all of the basic needs for human life as we know it not only does it provide food and clothing but it also helps balance the imports and exports in the united states the ability to feed our country and the world is what has built the united states and still holds our country together if people would stop and think they would see that we are far more dependent on agriculture than the oil supply

Answer 6

People should think about it. You have to have agriculture so you can eat. They always have the price of oil and gold and the dow average.  You can't eat oil.When people start being hungry in countries that can afford food people will remember agriculture

Answer 7

Yes i do think ag is important! For one, my step-dad is a farmer and i love to help him do things on the ranch.

Answer 8

This is a joke. Right? I can't think that anyone could think that agriculture was unimportant.

Answer 9

Think = Food and Fiber (cotton and wool are fibers)

Answer 10

Agriculture is anything from farming to greenhouses to scientists working in labs. Without agriculture, we would be not have any civilization at all. We would simply be hunters and gathers like our ancestors. If you plant a seed then that is agriculture. If you breed an animal for food or clothing then that is agriculture. Without it, what would this world be like??

Answer 11

How could we think that agriculture is not important? It feeds the world.

Answer 12

Is Agriculture important? Are you serious?

NO FARM NO FOOD!

You do enjoy eating, right?

Answer 13

Yes, because agriculture is the source of a lot of food. Corn, greens, and fruits and vegetables that grow from the gound and trees. All of that is agriculture.

Answer 14

i didnt really think about it until i took a agriscience class. farms today are bigger than they used to be , true, but thats bad also b/c its mainly big companies . no more farm kids want to go back home. its too hard and they would rather have a career in modern society. without our farmers though we would be lost!

Answer 15

Here's a simple way of looking at it: If there was no agriculture we'd all be dead.

The vast majortiy of people have long since lost the ability to sustain themselves without their local grocery store. And the stuff on those shelves don't fall from the sky. No matter what kind of thing it is or where it came from, it came from somebodys farm somewhere.

Answer 16

Oh, wow.....I wish you could come to my farm.  I did private duty nursing for over 15 years.

How important do I think agriculture is?  I quit working in the medical field cold turkey, gave 4 days notice, and went to working agriculture full time.  I quit a well paying job, with regular hours, paid vacations, great health insurance, 401K, profit sharing, the whole nine yards.

I went to having zero paycheck, no medical insurance, no vacations, no days off, horrible work hours....and I couldn't be happier.

I'm a person who values independance greatly.  Being able to raise my own food, and work WITH nature, instead of against it, was an ultimate goal for me.  I'd been plugging away at homesteading/farming my whole working carier.  I couldn't balance the two.  I enjoyed helping people.  I LOVE working my own land,  

Farming/homesteading won.  I now raise meat goats, and meat rabbits to sell to my customers.

The reality of government, politics, world economy, GMO crops, oil crissis, pollution, drugs/pesticides on our food, and a whole lot of other factors make me view homesteading/farming as the ONLY viable option for a secure future.  My husband and I are dependant on no-one for our food....we even grow our own fuel for our trucks and tractors.

My biggest concerns with agriculture is being a small farmer.  Small farmers are driven out of business right and left by new taxes, regulations, laws, lack of public knowledge, and pressure by the big companies like Monsanto.  It's not easy to be one of the small farmers, who do things ethically, humanely, and in earth friendly ways.  We qualify for ZIP!  The farmers who raise too much of a certain crop, are big polluters, make millions of dollars....those are the guys that are able to get the grants, and subsidies from the Government...NOT the small farmer.

It's so frustrating to see agra businessmen (I can't even call them farmers) rewarded over and over again, for doing things that are not good for the environment....and yet the Government will continue to send them subsidy checks, give them tax breaks, and generally reward bad behavior.

My general view on agriculture is I simply love the life.  I also wish more people would make an effort to support their small farmers.

For two years I had been making an effort to buy locally from a Mom & Pop Hardware Store.  The owner stopped by the farmers market last summer when I happened to be there.  They complained the prices were too high, and they could get cheaper at WalMart.  

I nodded, and stated I too could get cheaper hardware supplies at WalMart, but I prefered to keep my money in the hands of local people.  They didn't get it....they didn't and do not buy at the local farmers market.  I no longer buy hardware supplies from them (instead I buy from the feed store).

People need to "get it."

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 17

of course

Answer 18

Agriculture is almost first profession of human on earth. The first priority of human to get sufficient food for human. Your question is just joking???

Answer 19

what would you be with out agriculture well hows this naked and hungry we grow the food and products and others make it into clothing

Answer 20

Agriculture is by far the most important industry the US has. It accounts for the majority of out exports, and is the main reason why our food in the US is the cheapest in the world.  

With that being said, the cheapest food in the world also has lead to a pandemic of obesity.  I can safely say that over 80% of the US's population has no clue as to where their food comes from.  They just go to the grocery store and buy it and carry on with thier day.  Here is a few facts for you.....

1. 2% of the job force in the US is concidered farmers.

2. That same 2% feeds roughly 88% of the United States population. Thats huge!!!!!

My biggest concern regarding the agriculture industry today, is negative media and groups like PETA.  With the majority of the population not knowing how thier food is produced, Bad media about the current trends in Agriculture could and have damaged the Ag industry.  The more superstars claiming that organic food is the only way to go will only hurt the food production system.  Organic food cost 5 times as much as its compeditatior, and thier is very few differences.  If people are willing to pay for that little bit of security "Organic" label on thier food, then other food prices could go up with them. We need media to send a good message to the world that our food production is safe, and can be exported.  That could solve our problems with trading beef to Japan, and Grains to Europe.

I hope these are some topics you can use in your paper.

Thanks,

MTT

Answer 21

without agriculture you would be naked and hungry!!!

Answer 22

I can't really add anything that hasn't been said already.  I'll be a little dramatic here...

Our world would not exist, nor would human civilizations have been formed if it were not for the development of agriculture.  

A lot of people like to say that modern agriculture is destroying the earth and killing everything, but in the real world, agriculture is keeping the world alive.  If we banned all pesticides and forced farmers to go "organic" (which is really a joke if you know anything about "organic" production.  True organic food does not exist.) even Warren Buffett would have a hard time buying a box of corn flakes.  With the current production alone we cannot supply enough food for the world if we take into account the rapid increase in world population.  Think about the billions of people on earth and the very sharp decline in food production.  Think of the h**l that would be the US and the world economy.