Jobs in Agriculture America is like a huge farmers market New produce keeps coming into season Each region has the right weather for certain fruits and vegetables The The state fruit of Washington is the apple That is because six out of ten apples come from there Wisconsin grows the most cranberries They grow well in the sandy and wet areas of the state Growers like Gil Schieber of Washington are busy all year long His orchard has 1,600 trees He says he is busiest in spring The branches of the apple trees need to be thinned The workers have to get rid of weeds and insects They need to build new structures such as frames for the plants to grow on 4
World Harvest Agriculture is a giant business in America One in three acres grows food that is sold to other countries For example U S farms grow half of all corn grown world-wide A lot of corn is made into ethanol a fuel that burns more cleanly than oil Many crops are raw materials that get used in other products For example cotton plants grow well on farms in the South The cotton fibers can be made into cloth From California to the New York Islands 2 3 billion Total number of acres of U S land 26 percent Land used for pastures rounded 20 percent Approximate amount of land used for crops Source U S Department of Agriculture 5
You Know It STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering and Math These studies are important in farming People are applying their skills to the food supply It needs to be big enough to feed a growing world Everybody’s Business Agriculture is the science and practice of farming But planting crops is just the start of food production The food must get from the farm to the refrigerator Food companies make raw foods into soups snacks and other goods Pizza has been named the favorite food in America It is a common treat But a lot of work goes into each pizza Someone raises tomatoes for the sauce A farmer grows grains for the crust Others raise cows and goats for milk The milk is made into the cheese A box company makes the box 6
Granaries store wheat and other cereal grains Growing Fields Agribusiness is the business tied to farming Some people make and sell farm supplies Some companies store the products that come from farms Others take the products to markets They are all part of this business as well Agriculture is the basis of many kinds of careers About 1 percent of Americans work on farms Another 22 million Americans work in jobs that have a connection to farming Why will people always need food A person’s body digests food or breaks it into parts the body can use Food is made of molecules The molecules are made of atoms Those are the basic units of living and nonliving things There is energy in the connections between atoms Digestion breaks the connections and bodies take the energy from there 7
