Agriculture is the cultivation of plants, animals, and microorganisms in their natural environment. It includes arable farming, horticulture, and animal husbandry. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science.
Agriculture began independently around 10,000 years ago in multiple locations worldwide, including in Mesopotamia, the Nile River valley, and Northern China. By late medieval times, it had become the leading economic activity in Europe. Industrialization allowed rapid expansion into new markets and territories. Modern agribusiness, biotechnology, and genetic engineering improved plant production to increase yield and quality while making crops more resistant to insects, herbicides, and diseases.
Modern agronomy has mainly developed since the mid-20th century after World War II with active government research funding. In North America, it became a highly mechanized operation that primarily produces food for human consumption, as well as cash crops such as cotton and tobacco; other regions produce primarily for their native populations or as raw materials for local industries (e.g., woollen yarns spun into clothing).
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi, and other life forms for food, fibre, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science.
Agrarian societies are often differentiated from hunter-gatherer societies by their greater dependence on agricultural technology. While agrarian societies generally have a lower energy input per unit of land area, they can produce crops more quickly than hunter-gatherers and control their food supply and food security better than hunter-gatherers who rely on seasonal fruits and wild game for their food supply.
Agribusiness is a $1.3 trillion industry that employs nearly one in 10 workers in the United States. Agriculture is the backbone of our economy, providing a source of income and food for families across the country.
Agriculture is an essential part of our economy, but it’s also an extremely important part of our lives. Agriculture touches all Americans — whether you live in a rural town or an urban city — through the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the products we use every day.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) was created in 1863 to ensure that American farmers had access to markets for their crops and livestock; this remains one of its top priorities today. The USDA provides financial assistance to farmers through programs such as crop insurance, disaster assistance, conservation programs, and international trade promotion programs. The USDA also invests in research that helps farmers increase productivity while conserving natural resources and protecting public health and safety.
Why Should You Consider a Job in Agriculture?
There are several reasons why the agricultural industry is the right choice for you – if you want to combine your passion for the environment, learning and great pay. Here are some of the reasons that make it an interesting career choice;
1. Diverse Knowledge and Career Paths
The agricultural industry includes farming, livestock, forestry, research and several other divisions. You can see a list of specialisms here. This diversity not only increases your exposure in terms of knowledge but also allows you to select from an extensive range of specialisations based on your specific interests. If you enjoy your work, it is likely that your productivity will be higher, which will help you to progress more quickly.
Also a lot of careers within agriculture have a career path that you can follow, whereby seniority will increase based on performance. From working in a trainee role, right up to a Director level role.
2. Business Applications
The best part about the agricultural industry is that you don’t have to stay within the field after graduating. Agriculture has extensive business applications and several managerial and consultancy positions are designed specifically for people with an agriculture background.
You can choose the managerial and business aspects of the field if you find the agriculture field interesting but have a talent for business.
3. Environmental Support
By pursuing a career in agriculture, you can also choose to contribute towards safeguarding the environment, especially given the current climate crisis. If you choose to pursue jobs that are working closely with nature, you can choose a career in forestry or environmental science to explore ways of creating sustainable mechanisms that promote environmental growth. This can be extremely rewarding.
4. Earning Potential
The field is known for having several rewarding career paths with high earning potential. Whilst the best ones are niche and require specialisation, the eventual career prospects and remuneration make them worth the extra effort.
Farming for the Future
Conceptually, farming that seeks to enhance natural capital appears to smooth revenues over weather cycles Consider a grazing operation that uses lower amounts of synthetic inputs, and adjusts stocking rates in line with rainfall patterns. This operation is likely to have higher natural capital values (e.g. soil health, pasture diversity), and more consistent profitability, even though revenue from typical farm income may be lower in some years. Additional income and resilience may be achieved by diversifying enterprises and by earning carbon offset and biodiversity credit revenues. In a good year, this operation is likely to show higher profits but in dry years an operation that is improving natural capital is likely to show lower losses, or even small profits. The grazier will reduce stock levels as a drought emerges in order to maintain pasture quality and soil health. This reduces the need to buy in feed. The soil retains its moisture for longer and pastures respond faster when the drought breaks. The result is a more stable business with reduced financial stress, less need to draw on government aid, and improved quality of life for the producer and their family.
Rising ESG expectations from investors ESG issues are having a material impact on decisions made by investors and other stakeholders. ESG criteria are a set of standards that allow an organisation to demonstrate their performance outside of traditional financial analysis. There is growing evidence that companies that are transparent in addressing stakeholder interests, including ESG strategy and performance, increase their market value over time.
Investor capital is also driven by the need to seek out ESG returns over and above financial returns. For the first time in the US, sustainable agriculture (with $2.4 trillion in assets under management) broke into the top five specific ESG investment categories.6 Closer to home, Members of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, representing investors with more than $9 trillion in global assets,7 expect more than $100 billion in demand from Australian impact investors in the next five years (2020-2025). Climate change puts stakeholder capital at risk, and as result, investors are seeking to allocate capital to opportunities that mitigates its impact and fosters long-term value creation. The recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”) report recognised the part that nature-based solutions will play in mitigating climate change.
Natural capital focussed agriculture is an example of a nature based solution that could be an effective response to climate change and other threats (e.g. food security), while also creating value for institutional investors.
For Australian agriculture to be ready to supply nature-based investment solutions and to grow in a competitive global landscape, we need to be proactive in demonstrating the role that agriculture can play as a nature-based solution to climate change. Emerging sustainability regulatory risks for key markets Governments are increasingly willing to introduce new regulatory measures for producers who are having a negative impact on the environment.
Australian wheat, canola and beef are just three commodities that have had to adjust chemical use to meet international standards. Greenhouse gas emissions are also a risk for agriculture, with the sector contributing around 13% of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions annually. Most of this comes from the methane produced by cattle and other livestock, with a smaller component coming from fertiliser applied to crops and pastures. Both Europe and the United States are considering the implementation of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms that could require the purchase of carbon credits in order for agricultural products to access those markets as soon as 2026. Europe has also moved rapidly to seek to implement an environmental sustainability framework that could involve the application of tariffs or even larger market barriers for agricultural products that are not approved as ‘sustainable’.
As the urgency and magnitude of the decarbonisation challenge takes hold for both the public and private sector, we will see more significant sustainability regulatory risks emerge. It will be important for producers to avoid being caught off-guard by these new regulatory measures – and through improving natural capital, to capitalise on them as an opportunity.
Beyond the farm gate
Farming for the Future Emerging market risks are focused on proof of environmental sustainability BOX 2 In 2020 the European Commission (EC) announced a new agri-food policy foundation: the ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy (2020-2023). The Farm to Fork strategy outlines an ambitious plan for a comprehensive sustainability framework around food production and marketing systems that includes the potential for implementation of barriers to trade such as tariffs and non-tariff barriers (i.e. bans and/or import quotas). As some of the most export-reliant farming industries in the world, the Australian farming industry faces substantial risks from the ‘farm to fork’ strategy.
EU Key targets of this strategy are: 50% 25% reduction in the use and risk of pesticides 50% of agricultural land to be used for organic farming 20% reduction in sales of antimicrobials used for farmed animals and aquaculture reduction in the use of fertilisers at least The EU trade policy will encourage trade partners to take up similarly ambitious commitments to more sustainable farming practices. Responding to investor demands and consumer markets Investors and consumers are increasingly rewarding companies that exhibit socially and environmentally responsible practices. According to PwC’s recent Global Consumer Insights Survey, 29% of respondents said they buy brands that promote sustainable practices. This is particularly important for younger cohorts, with Millennials increasingly making purchasing decisions based on sustainably produced and packaged products.
A number of major corporations, including McDonald’s and General Mills, have committed to promoting environmentally friendly agriculture within their supply chains. Others have taken this further, with Canadian multinational frozen food company, McCain, pledging to use only sustainably-farmed potatoes by 2030. CBH Group has exported sustainable malting barley to Vietnam, attracting a $5 premium per tonne for barley growers accredited through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification scheme.
In addition, Australian businesses are beginning to show interest in helping producers to ‘drought-proof’ and revitalise their land in order to meet their net-zero emissions goals. Major supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles are also recognising that the agricultural sector can be a significant enabler to help them achieve their net-zero ambitions.
So the opportunities are vast for new farmers who care for the future and want a life in primary production. It just needs determination, hard work and taking new ideas into your business that the future is seeking.