How the Changes in Technology Are Changing the Face of the Agricultural Industry
Agriculture is the process of cultivation of plants and animals. The history of agriculture starts thousands of year ago, when farming of domestic animals made food surpluses sufficient enough for the survival of man. Agriculture then moved gradually towards producing surplus harvests for use by people in cities, starting with cereals. Later, crops like wheat and barley were planted to recover soil fertility. In the Early Modern Period, farming practices focused on the cultivation of fruits and vegetables for retail sales and as animal feeds.
The 21st century agricultural production has seen an impressive expansion. Many agricultural products – pulses, cereals, oilseeds, and peanuts – are used for animal feed and industrial purposes. Livestock in farmhouses and barns can range from horses to sheep and cattle. Major components in modern day agriculture include:
Agriculture has played a crucial role in the world economy. Agriculture is the foundation of modern statehood, and its continuity is crucial for economic development. Agriculture indirectly contributes to economic growth by creating employment in rural areas as well as by providing cash resources to local business owners. Agriculture contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as it reduces food imports and reduces fuel consumption. It also increases world market liquidity. However, agricultural productivity is not constant, and some years, yields are lower than others.
In the early 20th century, the world market economy suffered great depression, and many countries had to adopt agricultural policies that promote agriculture, increase farm income, and minimize farm over-exploitation. This helped farmers to secure their incomes and stabilize prices of agricultural produce. During World War I and World War II, agricultural production and investments were important for the economies of different countries. During these periods, various policies were adopted that led to agricultural growth, agricultural surplus production, and agricultural prosperity.
The Great Depression lasted from 1920 until the early 1930s. Many farmers had to shift their lands to larger ones, to cope up with the changes in agricultural yield and to keep the money flow going. During this period of time, Great Depression had a drastic impact on the agricultural sector all over the world. The Great Depression made a significant impact on world trade and exchange rates, and the Great Depression led to the emergence of the concept of “deflation,” which suggests that in the face of a fall in investment spending, the rate of interest will decrease, leading to lower prices of agricultural products.
As the Great Depression ended, there was a growth in world trade and movement of capital. The result was increased globalization, increasing international trade and integration of markets. In this situation, agricultural production was able to adjust to the new circumstances, and was able to compete with the goods produced by the industrialized countries. However, the end of the Great Depression also ushered in another major concept related to agricultural production – perfect competition. It was this perfect competition that encouraged agricultural production to increase and led to the development of various farm implements that were essential for agricultural production and the raising of standards of living.
The Great Depression led to another major change in agricultural production technology – the growth of the industrial revolution. When millions of farmers were forced to migrate to cities in search of jobs, they left behind their old agrarian machinery and tools and purchased tractors, combines, harvesters, and other modern day farming equipment. During the early years of the industrial revolution, farmers experienced some of the worst hit of the global economic crisis, with prices of agricultural products soaring. However, as the decades passed by, farmers and ranchers once again invested in improving their productivity, and were able to weather the storm of the 21st century’s global economic crisis.
All these events paved the way for the emerging of modern day agricultural practices and trends. Today, agricultural producers are facing the same challenges that they did during the pre-Industrial Revolution days, but thanks to advancements in information technology, farmers and ranchers can better manage their assets, ensuring that their investments do not go to waste. To be able to monitor the changing trends in the agricultural industry, agricultural researchers have started creating farm management software programs that would help determine how to better position a particular type of crop depending on its market conditions. This information is used to determine what crops to plant, how to protect them from adverse weather conditions, and how to optimize cropland and pasture management. Thanks to these advanced agricultural techniques, farmers around the world are now better equipped to deal with the challenges of the 21st century.
