- Agribusiness
In
agriculture , agribusiness is a generic term that refers to the variousbusiness es involved infood production, includingfarming ,seed supply,agrichemical s, farm machinery,wholesale and distribution, processing,marketing , andretail sales. The term has two distinctly different connotations depending on context.Within the agriculture
industry , agribusiness is widely used simply as a convenientportmanteau of agriculture and business, referring to the range of activities and disciplines encompassed by modern food production. There areacademic degrees in and departments of agribusiness, agribusinesstrade associations , agribusinesspublications , and so forth, worldwide. Here, the term is only descriptive, and is synonymous in the broadest sense withfood industry .Among critics of large-scale, industrialized, vertically integrated food production, the term "agribusiness" is used as a negative, synonymous with
corporate farming . As such, it is often contrasted withfamily farm . Some negative connotation is also derived from the negative associations of "business" and "corporation" from critics of capitalism or corporate excess.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. [ [http://www.greatncwines.com/?p=283 Great Times in North Carolina » Blog Archive » North Carolina’s Winegrower’s Cooperative Folds ] ] [ [http://www.avenuevine.com/archives/001560.html Avenue Vine: Co-op Closing, Grape Growers Losing Investments ] ]
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 [http://www.farmingpages.com] .
See also
*
Agrarian law
*Agrarian reform
*Biofuel
*Energy crop
*Factory farming
*List of environment topics
*Lundberg Family Farms Notes and references
External links
*
SA Farmers - The Informed Choice (SA Farmer Community Trade Forum) [http://www.safarmers.co.za]
*Cornell Food and Brand Lab [http://www.foodpsychology.cornell.edu]
* [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071231/pentland_gumpert USDA Bets the Farm on Animal ID Program]
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