Working In Agriculture

A wide variety of agriculture jobs exist, ranging from hands-on field work to complex positions in agricultural engineering. Specific job categories include agribusiness, agricultural inspection, agriscience, and farm work. Some positions are learned on the job, while others will require a college degree and specialized training.

Agriculture jobs in the business sector involve working with companies that grow and sell crops and livestock. The distribution, buying, and trading of produce may be supervised. The work typically includes marketing, price analysis, drafting contracts, and farm management. Most of these positions will require a four-year degree or higher, as well as good communication and people skills.
Agricultural inspectors often work for government offices that establish and enforce health and safety regulations regarding the food supply. These inspectors make sure that farms and processing plants are following the proper procedures where food safety is concerned. This usually involves testing livestock for harmful diseases and inspecting food for dangerous microbes and other contaminants.

An agricultural scientist works to improve the quality and safety of both farm animals and crops. These positions are often found in universities and research labs. The agricultural jobs may include improving farm equipment technology to increase the quantity and quality of goods, finding cures for diseases that affect livestock and crops, and discovering more effective methods of pest control. A strong background in science, math, and engineering is necessary for this position.
Farming was likely the very first agriculture job; in addition to crops and livestock, it may also involve specialized animal breeding. To ensure healthy crops, the art of plowing, planting, and fertilization must be learned for each crop type. The responsible use of pesticides is also important, as well as the routine maintenance of facilities and equipment. A production manager may be employed to oversee progress, while also finding ways to increase production using less time and money. Many farm positions are seasonal, employing extra workers during certain months to pick fruits and vegetables.

Animal breeders must be well educated in animal health and genetics. They must know the proper foods to feed an animal for ensuring healthy offspring, and will study the various traits of different animals to determine the best breeding specimens. Breeders will often use artificial insemination and must therefore understand how the procedure works. This agriculture job, as with all farm work, is ideal for those who love animals and working outdoors.

Importance of agriculture

There is certainly no doubt about the fact that civilization not only in the United Kingdom but in fact all around the world started with agriculture. After our ancestors started focusing on agriculture for their livelihood and earning, human society as a whole was changed afterwards forever without any measure of speculations for sure.

As a result of agriculture, villages as well as towns developed along with an overall better understanding of art, science as well as knowledge which continued to improve since then with every passing day.

Even, now, the 21st century with all the technological developments and advancements all around the globe cannot deny the importance of agriculture. Given below are few important points which will help you better understand the importance of agriculture and farming:

a. In the current hi-tech age of globalization and developments in all fields of life, people still rely on agricultural products in a variety of ways such as nutrition, source of energy, fiber and so on.

b. Another highly significant point as far as the importance of agriculture is concerned is that it is a major economic driver. It is equally important for individual livelihood, poverty eradication as well as overall growth of the state. According to a survey, it contributes between 40 to 80% of the gross development product of majority of the countries located in the continent of Africa.

c. Moreover, one cannot also deny the fact that agriculture also contributes a great deal towards a healthy biosphere.

d. Real food security can only be ensured with the help of agriculture even in today’s modern world without any question.

The above mentioned points are few of the many factors that clearly indicate the importance of agriculture even in the current age of developments and advancements. In case, you still need to know more regarding the importance of agriculture, then UK Business Directory is surely one such platform where you can get awareness regarding any issue and can further broaden up your horizon for sure.

Paleo Diet Problems With A Pre-agricultural Diet

The Paleo Diet or Paleolithic Diet is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. This controversial diet regimen advocates eating only foods that would have been available before the advent of agriculture, some 10,000 years ago or so.

While many agree that there is some valid science behind the claims made by the advocates of the Paleo Diet, a variety of current issues such as economics, culturally traditional diets, available food sources, population growth, and environmental impact seem to be ignored.

Proponents of the Paleo Diet claim that a variety of civilization diseases would be eliminated through the reversion to a pre-agricultural diet. These include, among others, obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Voices in opposition to the claims made for the diet often cite short life spans as evidence refuting claims for the positive aspects of the diet. Both groups base their arguments on carefully selected and opposing work by archaeologists.

Current medical and social science indicates that a wide variety of factors have impact on these diseases. Obesity and Type 2 diabetes, as well as many of the other health issues, result from the limited choices available to families with low incomes in industrialized countries, notably the United States.

With fast food the most affordable and most accessible source of calories, eating habits centered around unhealthy foods are understandable. The socio-economic impact of poverty is not apparent in the discussion by Paleo Diet proponents regarding civilization diseases.

The ability of the planet to sustain a ready and affordable supply of healthy meat and fish to the worlds population is extremely unlikely. The conversion of plant matter to beef is generally agreed to be 100 lbs. (about 45.4 kg) of plant mass for every 10 lbs. (about 4.5 kg) of beef.

When the population of the planet was measured in the hundreds of thousands or even a few millions, widespread consumption of meat might have been reasonable. As we wend our way toward the nine billion mark, a diet consisting of 50% animal protein is not going to work.

For those who choose a diet including a large percentage of meat, it might be important to consider the methods of raising the animals. For those that can afford the cost, range-fed animals can be a great source of protein.

The reliance on factory-farm animals and poultry which often are injected or fed various antibiotics, hormones, and unnatural foods makes including these as a large part of ones diet something of a risk. Sadly, even fish and shellfish are occasionally a risk as they can absorb mercury and other toxics caused by industrial pollution.

The claims of the Paleo Diet advocates that a post agricultural diet is unhealthy choose to ignore such traditional cuisines as might be found in Japan, India, Greece, and Italy. Their claims ignore the excellent health and longevity of cultures that have adapted a diet of legumes and grains as staples. Statistics that seem to support the Paleo Diet may be derived from Western culture where the preponderance of processed food and fast food precludes a healthy diet.

A broad view of diet is important for healthy and enjoyable eating. Concerns in addition to eating might include affordability, environmental impact, and quality.

To many, the Paleo Diet may seem an elitist diet accessible only to those wealthy enough to buy quantities of range-fed, organic meat.
To others, current science appears to demonstrate that a diet heavily dependent on grains and legumes is both healthy and affordable.
Whatever your choice, it is important to enjoy good food and eat a balanced diet of wholesome food.

How To Start A Community Supported Agriculture Market Garden

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a great way for farmers and consumers to connect. The demand for fresh local food is growing steadily; there’s never been a better time to start market gardening. Learn how to start your own CSA and grow an income from your garden.

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

In the CSA model, customers support the farmer by buying a share of vegetables from her market garden. Customers often pay in advance for the season; this early cash flow provides start up capital for the farmer to buy seeds and supplies. In this model the CSA farmer can launch a market garden with little capital of her own.

What is the benefit to the consumer?

Customers of the CSA benefit by receiving a weekly share of fresh, natural food, often delivered right to their door. They also benefit from the knowledge they are supporting local food and local farmers, and reducing the ‘food miles’ that most produce travels before it reaches the consumer. Finally, the consumer is connecting back to the real source of all food, the soil. Many CSA customers feel a sense of ownership as they support their farm.

How to get started in Community Supported Agriculture

Step one is to set some goals for your CSA garden. How much money do you expect to make from your garden? Do you expect to make a part time income, or will your CSA be your main source of income for the season?

Once you have set an income target, you need to determine a price for your CSA shares, and the number of customers you will need to reach your target. For example, if you plan to make $10,000 from your garden, and you think that $500 per share is a fair price for your produce, then you will need to find 20 customers to meet your income goal. You can determine a price per share by surveying other CSA farms in your area, and comparing their offerings and prices. You can also estimate fair price by determining how much of each vegetable you plan to include in the share, and researching to find out an average price for each one.

Finding customers for your Community Supported Agriculture market garden

The first step in marketing your garden is to reach out to your warm market. Talk to your friends, family, co-workers, golf buddies, car poolers, in short everybody, and tell them you will be growing delicious, fresh vegetables in limited quantities, and if they hurry they can get on the list to get some. If they are interested, sign them up and accept a payment to help finance your garden.

If your warm market can’t fulfill your target for customers, then you have to find another source. Mail out flyers are a good way to target a specific area to find more customers. Find a neighborhood within your delivery distance, and send each home a flyer describing your garden and the benefits of your CSA program. If you write a good, compelling flyer, you can expect to receive about a 1% response rate. In other words, if you send out 1,000 flyers you will net about 10 customers. Repeat the mailing in other close neighborhoods until you reach your target.

Planning your Community Supported Agriculture market garden

Once you have confirmed how many customers you have, you now need to plan and schedule your garden to grow the vegetables for them. One of the big advantages of Community Supported Agriculture is that you know exactly how many customers you have, and therefore you can plan your market garden to be quite efficient. You will need to know your last spring frost date and your first fall frost date to plan your growing schedule. You also need to know how long each vegetable takes to mature, how much it yields, and how often you need to replant to keep a continuous harvest coming.

For example, if you have 20 customers, and each customer expects to receive one head of lettuce per week, then you know you need to harvest at least that many lettuces each week. If lettuce takes 50 days to grow to maturity, and needs one square foot of space to grow, you can figure out when to start the plants, and how much space in total you will need. You carry out this calculation for each crop you plan to grow.

Growing your Community Supported Agriculture market garden

A successful market garden requires regular attention to survive and thrive. You need to take all reasonable effort to grow and protect your crops; your customers are counting on you to bring them fresh vegetables each week. You should plant more than one variety of each vegetable, and make multiple plantings at short intervals to protect against crop failure. Grow disease resistant varieties whenever possible. Raised beds can protect against heavy rains and flooding, and drip irrigation will protect against drought. Floating row cover will provide a physical barrier against insects, and will protect young plants from cold and wind.

Starting a Community Supported Agriculture market garden is a great business you can start for very little cash. If you are successful you can grow from a part-time to a very good full time income with CSA.

Where To Find Jobs In Agriculture

Jobs in agriculture are most suitable for men and women who love working outdoors, delight in operating tractors, and hefty equipment together with those who are enthusiastic about the science and investigation regarding growing vegetation, helping them thrive and profiting from them. There are various methods to locate and get jobs in agriculture.

Automotive abilities can also be recommended. Individuals who choose to operate in the agriculture sector have to have quite a few driving accreditations. Tractors along with other equipment are standard vehicles utilized in agriculture. Being able to manage, drive and manipulate these vehicles are often very bewildering for a person without these abilities. There are various classes and skills you require as a way to drive a sizable piece of equipment. This may be a essential skill if trying to get jobs in agriculture.

Study and investigation are also aspects of the agriculture line of business. Not everyone would need to work on a farm or manage huge machines. Quite a few persons will have to work in the agriculture industry from the research end. This particular job needs men and women in a laboratory location who scientifically research numerous crops to be able to improve farm productivity.

The agriculture and farming industry is a business like any many other industry. Knowledge in business will be required. There are several elements of agriculture that need a keen business eye. For example, business abilities will be incredibly useful when purchasing or selling crops and livestock.

Jobs in agriculture demand great animal handling abilities. Being aware of the different sorts of animals on a farm and how to care for them is necessary. Say for instance you put in a request for a opportunity as a Farm Administrator, Pig Farmer or Shearer. Most of these jobs call for expertise and accreditations with handling certain or even all farm creatures.

Mentioned are many of the specifications needed to recieve a job in agriculture. There are also several unique career fields within the agriculture industry that call for various areas of study, technique and skill. The range of vocations throughout the industry are varied. In order to get yourself a job in agriculture there are a number of skills and schooling you will have to go through first.