Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialities.
Cultivation of crops on arable land and the pastoral herding of livestock on
rangeland remain at the foundation of agriculture. In the past century a
distinction has been made between sustainable agriculture and intensive
farming. Modern agronomy, plant breeding, pesticides and fertilizers, and
technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation.
Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry such as intensive pig
farming (and similar practices applied to the chicken) has similarly increased
the output of meat. The more exotic varieties of agriculture include
aquaculture and tree farming. The major agricultural products can be broadly
grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, raw materials, pharmaceuticals and illegal
drugs, and an assortment of ornamental or exotic products. In the 2000s, plants
have been used to grow biofuels, bio pharmaceuticals, bioplastics, and pharmaceuticals.
Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, and meat. Fibers include
cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo.
Drugs include tobacco, alcohol, opium, cocaine, and digitalis. Other useful
materials are produced by plants, such as resins. Biofuels include methane from
biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel. Cut flowers, nursery plants, tropical fish and
birds for the pet trade are some of the ornamental products.
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