Farming engaged in as a large-scale business operation embracing the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products and the manufacture of farm machinery, equipment, and supplies.
agribusiness
Dictionary:
ag·ri·busi·ness (ăg'rə-bĭz'nĭs)  |
n.
| 5min Related Video: agribusiness |
| Business Dictionary: Agribusiness |
Large-scale production, processing, and marketing of food and nonfood farm commodities and products. Agribusiness is a major commercial business. California has the largest concentration of agribusiness in the United States.
| Geography Dictionary: agribusiness |
Large agricultural operations which are run like an industry. A single business can be concerned with the whole of agricultural output: the ownership of land, the agricultural process, the manufacture of agricultural machinery, the processing of the product, and its shipment. This is typical of agribusinesses in the USA; European equivalents are not generally as all-embracing. An agribusiness is characterized by very large production units, and considerable vertical and horizontal integration. For example, a firm producing frozen vegetables sets up contracts with farmers and also owns the company which provides their contract labour and sells them fertilizer. Management tends to be by administrators and accountants rather than farmers because the farms may be only a minor part of the business.
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: agribusiness |
For more information on agribusiness, visit Britannica.com.
| Economics Dictionary: agribusiness |
The part of the economy devoted to the production, processing, and distribution of food, including the financial institutions that fund these activities.
| Wikipedia: Agribusiness |
In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales. The term has two distinctly different connotations depending on context.
Within the agriculture industry, agribusiness is widely used simply as a convenient portmanteau of agriculture and business, referring to the range of activities and disciplines encompassed by modern food production. There are academic degrees in and departments of agribusiness, agribusiness trade associations, agribusiness publications, and so forth, worldwide. Here, the term is only descriptive, and is synonymous in the broadest sense with food industry.
Among critics of large-scale, industrialized, vertically integrated food production, the term agribusiness is used negatively, synonymous with corporate farming. As such, it is often contrasted with smaller family-owned farms. Negative connotations are also derived from the negative associations of "business" and "corporation" by critics of capitalism or corporate excess. As concern over global warming intensifies, biofuels derived from food crops quickly emerged as a practical answer to the energy crisis. Adding corn ethanol to gasoline or using palm oil for biodiesel makes the fuel burn more cleanly, stretches oil supplies, and perhaps most attractive to some politicians, provides a nice boost to big agribusiness. In Europe and in the US, increasing biofuels was mandated by law.[1]
An example of an agribusiness was the Old North State Winegrowers Cooperative in North Carolina. Wine grape farmers came together to not only sell their grapes but to share a winery, winemaker and marketing brand together. The cooperative failed in 2006, three years after opening its winery. [2] [3]
Many progressive agribusinesses are now operating online businesses. Rising fuel costs are increasingly adding financial burdens on the day to day running of agricultural companies. An example of an online agribusiness is FarmingPages.com[1].
See also
- Agrarian law
- Agrarian reform
- Biofuel
- Contract farming
- Energy crop
- Factory farming
- agricultural Land banking
- List of environment topics
- Soybean wars of Paraguay
Notes and references
- ^ Backpedaling on Biofuels
- ^ Great Times in North Carolina » Blog Archive » North Carolina’s Winegrower’s Cooperative Folds
- ^ Avenue Vine: Co-op Closing, Grape Growers Losing Investments
External links
- SA Farmers - The Informed Choice (SA Farmer Community Trade Forum)
- Cornell Food and Brand Lab
- USDA Bets the Farm on Animal ID Program
- "Bacon as a Weapon of Mass Destruction" - video by Democracy Now!
- The Globalization of Agribusiness and Developing World Food Systems by John Wilkinson, Monthly Review
- Agri Business & Food Industry- INDIA's only Monthly magazine having maximum presence in the International Exhibitions
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Translations: Agribusiness |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - forretningsmæssigt landbrug, kommercielt landbrug
Nederlands (Dutch)
commerciële landbouw
Français (French)
n. - agro-industries
Deutsch (German)
n. - Agrarindustrie
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (οικον.) καθετοποιημένη αγροτική επιχείρηση
Italiano (Italian)
agroindustria
Português (Portuguese)
n. - agroindústria (f)
Español (Spanish)
n. - agroindustria
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - jordbruksnäring
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
农业综合企业
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 農業綜合企業
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) صناعات و أعمال متعلقه بالزراعه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - עסקי חקלאות
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Business Dictionary. Dictionary of Business Terms. Copyright © 2000 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Economics Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Agribusiness". Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Alexander & Baldwin Inc
- Alico Inc
- Highland (city, California)
- factory farming
- Bunge Limited
- Rabobank Group (Private - Cooperative Company)
- industrialization of food production
- Hemet (city, California)
- Fresno: Introduction (city, California)
- Seaboard Corporation (Public Company)
- Rabo AgriFinance (Subsidiary Company)
- Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (Private - Mutual Company Company)
- Perdue Incorporated (Private Company)
- Westfield Group (Private Company)
