Agriculture

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Agriculture
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What is agriculture?

• It is the business of cultivating soil, raising
  livestock and producing crops for human need
• Can be called farming or husbandry
• Products of agriculture are fruits, vegetables
  and livestock

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Agriculture and soil

• Soil covers much of the land on Earth
• It is made up of minerals, air, water, and
  organic material
• Soil provides a place for plant roots to anchor
• Source of food for plants
• Home for many animals
• It is made up of many layers

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Soil Layers

• Layers are called horizons
• O-is mainly organic material
• A-is topsoil
• B-is subsoil
• C-is parent material

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Agriculture and the U.S.

• Agriculture is Americas largest industry
• -100-billion-plus livestock and poultry
  industry
• -100-billion-plus crop industry
• About 18 of all American jobs
• 13 of the nations gross domestic product

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Agriculture and the U.S. cont.

• Wheat
• Corn
• Soybeans
• Rice

• Beef cattle
• Chickens/turkeys
• Cows
• Goats/sheep

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Agriculture in Pa.
Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2001 Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2001 Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2001 Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2001
Commodity Value of receiptsthousand Percent of state totalfarm receipts Percent of US value
1.     Dairy products 1,791,804 40.2 7.3
2.     Cattle and calves 418,208 9.4 1.0
3.     Mushrooms 351,898 7.9 58.2
4.     Greenhouse/nursery 331,608 7.4 2.4
5.     Chicken eggs 303,676 6.8 2.4
       
All commodities 4,454,979   2.2
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Agriculture and pests

• Gypsy moth
• Fungus
• Grasshoppers
• Other insects
• bacteria

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New Threat-Agroterrorism
Any criminal act that -Introduces hazards to
plant, animal, and human health -Erodes
public confidence in U.S. food supply and
safety -Damages agricultural commerce and
economy, including international
trade -Causes social unrest
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Why agroterrorism?

• There are some reasons why terrorists might use
  livestock or crop diseases
• The agents are easy to introduce into the
  environment
• They do not need a weapon to transmit them
• This makes it safer for the terrorist to use
  them, and
• The agents are widely available
• Things that can be used in agroterrorism
  viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites

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How could this happen to our food supply?

• Average domestic food product moves 1,518 miles.
• Average imported food product moves 2,242 miles.
• We have the worlds safest food supply but in
  December 2003 we questioned that.
• Thousands fell ill 3 died from eating green
  onions in PA, TN, GA NC.
• We had a single sick cow in Washington State and
  30 nations responded with bans on imports or
  other sanctions.
• As food travels from farm to table, there are
  many points along the way where acts of terrorism
  and contamination could potentially occur
• USDA and FDA work hard to ensure the safety of
  our food supply