The Business of Agriculture

1. The Business of Agriculture What is agriculture? How does it affect me and my family? Do my skills, abilities and interests fit into occupations in agriculture?

2. What is agriculture? Agriculture is the production of crops, livestock, or poultry. Natural resources: water, air, soil, salt, oil, fish, trees, etc.

3. What are the 5-F’s? Agriculture is best explained by the 5-Fs • Farming • Food • Fiber • Forestry • Flowers

4. Farming Moooooo

5. Farming The actual production of food and fiber derived from plants and animals.

6. Farmers: Must understand economics, business, mathematics, and the science involved in getting their crops and animals to market.

7. Science The science involved in agriculture includes the knowledge of ecosystems, soil, water, weather, chemistry, and plant and animal biology.

8. Plants Why? Understanding the science of plants, animals, soils, and water in our environment has led to the most productive agricultural system the world has ever know.

9. Who? The American family spends about 11 percent of its total income on food, the lowest in the world!

10. What? Less than 2 percent of our population produces our bountiful harvest, but nearly 20 percent of our total labor force is involved in our food and fiber industry.

11. Food • Is made from the raw products taken from the farm. • Some products like corn may be consumed in their “raw” state or processed into an entirely different product. Like: • Corn chips • Taco shells • Popcorn • Cooking Oil • Detergents • Medicines

12. Flour • Bread is a more palatable way to eat wheat. • Four is used in hundreds of other products: • Tortillas • Pastas • Doughnuts • Muffins • Pancakes • Cookies • Pie crusts • Pretzels • And more

13. Processed • Some of our farm “raw” food products need to be processed into a more palatable and digestible form before they can be eaten. • Wheat, for example is the most important grain in the U.S. • We would have to eat hundreds of “raw” or whole-wheat seeds to get the same nutrition we can get more easily from processing the wheat into flour and then baking bread.

14. The principal grains grown in the world today are wheat, corn, and rice; these three provide more than half of the world’s food from plants.

15. WHEAT

16. CORN

17. RICE

18. It all starts with a little . . . seed.

19. Add a little . . .

20. Soil and . . .

21. The famer

22. And we have food!

23. Food Yummy, yummy food!

24. Grains are simply the seeds or fruits of grasses.

25. They belong to a group of grasses called cereals or cereal grains and include: • Wheat • Corn • Rice • Oats • Rye • Buckwheat • Millet • Sorghum (milo) • Barley • Quinoa • Amaranth • Triticale (a high-yield grain developed by crossing wheat for its gluten and rye for its hardiness).

26. All grains have basically the same makeup. Each kernel, or grain, has a tiny “germ,” or seed, at its core.

27. Protecting the germ and endosperm is the bran, or hull – a tough, fibrous, hard covering.

28. The kind of grain used largely determines the flavor, texture, and nutrition of the bread.

29. Grains are the primary raw material in bread.

30. Without the grains grown on American farms, the cereal shelves would be empty.

31. It’s hard to imagine an empty cereal aisle at your favorite grocery store, and easy to forget that all of the cereals came from a farmer’s field.

32. Consumers and business owners alike need farmers to produce the raw ingredients to fill the factories, trucks and stores, and to provide jobs along the way.

33. Jobs like . . . • Truck drivers, truck dispatchers, weight/scale officials, truck repair people, tire stores, truck stops/gas stations, etc. • Manufacturing people, chefs, equipment repair people, custodians, secretaries, etc. • Grocery stores, cashiers, baggers, stock people, custodians, painters, repair people, accountants, buyers, managers, etc.

34. Jobs like . . . • graphic designers for packaging • engineers in processing • food scientists, etc.

35. About one out of five or 20% of Americans rely on agriculture for employment.

36. In fact the person who designs the box for Tony the Tiger’s Frosted Flakes ® owes his or her livelihood to the fact that someone grows corn.

37. Fiber Brrrr its cold outside!

38. Fabric • Also a “raw” product produced on the farm. • The two most important fibers produced on the farm are wool and cotton.

39. These fibers are made into thread or yarn and then knitted or woven into fabric or cloth. • Then made into gloves, socks, suits, coats, and other products like blankets, carpets, and curtains.

40. Forestry • Or the cultivation of trees. • Many private forests are grown to provide paper and other wood products.

41. Flowers • Part of the “green industry” which includes turf and nursery plants. • The primary use of these “crops” is for aesthetics or beauty.

42. Where? There are so many jobs in this industry!

43. Agriculture is everywhere!

44. Get into groups of 3-4 people. Complete the worksheet called “What is Agriculture?”

45. Let’s play a game. . .

46. Name the 5F’s of Agriculture 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

47. Who am I? What do I give the world?

48. Who am I? What do I give the world?

49. Who am I? What do I give the world?

50. Jobs What jobs are INDIRECTLY connected to agriculture?