What is Agriculture?
Agriculture is farming!
Farming is planting and harvesting crops, growing fruits and vegetables, as well as raising cattle, pigs, turkeys and chickens.
Agriculture is also much more than this. It is the industry that grows, harvests, and supplies us with food, fiber, trees, turf, and landscaping materials.
Food comes from plants and animals.
Fiber is the raw material from plants and animals that we use to make cloth, clothing, rope, and more. Cotton, linen, silk, wool, sisal, and hemp are fibers.
Trees give us wood that becomes lumber, furniture, and firewood; pulp to make paper; and hundreds of other things, including turpentine (a useful oil) and medicines.
Landscaping materials include flowers, plants, and turf (already planted grass) for beauty, pleasure, and fun activities.
Fun Facts
- ONE bushel of whole wheat can make 64 loaves of bread.
- The average potato is 75% to 80% water.
- ONE bale of cotton makes 215 pairs of blue jeans.
- Minnesota is the TOP producer in the country of sugar beets and cultivated wild rice.
- More than 80% of all jobs in Minnesota agriculture are not farming.
- An acre is about the size of a football field.