Agriculture is a special type of activity aimed at growing, processing and manufacturing products, as well as the provision of related services. Its main industries are animal husbandry and crop production. The welfare of its people largely depends on how developed agriculture will be as a branch of production of one or another country.
Characteristic features of crop production in Russia
There are a lot of lands in our country and, it would seem, all the prerequisites for the successful development of this direction of agriculture are available. However, unfortunately, Russia is geographically located in such a way that climatic conditions and various kinds of natural factors limit possibilities in this regard quite seriously. Crop production as a branch of agriculture in our country is quite a promising area, but only if new technologies are used and respect for nature.
Only 35% of Russian lands are located in a temperate climate, well suited for growing crops such as rye, wheat, oats, buckwheat, etc. Huge areas beyond the Arctic Circle are completely unsuitable for crop production. In addition, large territories in our country are occupied by taiga, where cultivation of the land is a process that is also associated with a huge number of difficulties.
Crop production as a branch of agriculture: main directions
At the moment, the main areas of agriculture in Russia include:
- Grain farming. This direction is of great importance for the population of any state in the world, including our country. Bread can be considered the main human food product. The most valuable feed for farm animals is also produced from cereals.
- Feed production. This is the name of the system of various activities aimed at the manufacture, procurement and processing of animal feed. In this case, the land is used for the cultivation of mainly meadow crops, root crops, tubers, melons, etc.
- Cultivation of industrial crops. These include cotton, flax, sunflower, sugar beets, tobacco, etc.
- Vegetable and potato growing.
- Viticulture and gardening.
Plant growing geography in Russia
So, the main branches of agricultural specialization in our country are animal husbandry and agriculture. Geographically, Russia is located in several climatic zones. On crop production, and in particular on the diversity of the composition of cultivated crops, this reason has an impact primarily.
So, wheat, demanding thermal conditions, preferring nutritious loamy soils, a fairly drought tolerant crop, is grown mainly in the steppe and forest-steppe zones. The habitat of less picky rye has wider borders. Barley is spread almost throughout the country's agricultural territory - from the cold northern regions to the arid southern ones.
Different types of industrial crops are also common in different zones. Sunflower, for example, grows very well in arid regions. The only thing is that in order to get good yields, this crop should be planted only on fairly fertile soils. Sunflower is grown mainly in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the European part of the country. Sugar beets, on the contrary, are very demanding on the humidity regime. Therefore, it was distributed mainly only in the central and western regions of the forest-steppe zone.
Vegetable growing includes a huge number of crops belonging to different biological species. Therefore, it is well developed on almost the entire agricultural territory of Russia. The most common open-crop crops are cabbage, tomatoes, pumpkin, onions, beets and carrots. They are grown on an industrial scale, most often in those places where there is access to water - along the shores of lakes, rivers and reservoirs. The largest centers of vegetable growing occurred in the lower Volga and Don and in the North Caucasus.
Gardening is also an important area in the field of agriculture. The agricultural sectors associated with the cultivation of fruit and berry crops were also widely spread in Russia, especially in its European part (Volga region, Krasnodar Territory). The largest variety of fruit crops is observed in the North Caucasus. A lot of gardens are also planted in Bashkiria and Altai.
Characteristics of livestock
This industry is also promising for our country. It is enough to recall that before the crisis at the end of the last century it was one of the leading ones. The characteristics of the agricultural industry in this case will be incomplete without a brief digression into history. In the Soviet Union, animal husbandry, and in particular cattle breeding, was very well developed. However, the economic crisis of the following years had a more than negative impact on this area. Only from 1991 to 2005, the number of cattle decreased from 54.7 to 21.4 million tons. According to the results of the same 2005, animal husbandry in our country was considered unprofitable. Therefore, there was an increase in imports of this product.
However, at the moment, agriculture as a branch of the economy (including livestock) in our country can be considered more or less profitable. To some extent, this is due to the development of private farms.
Major industries
So, what are the main directions presented in this case, agriculture? The agricultural sectors in livestock are as follows:
- Cattle breeding. Cattle breeding along with grain growing is one of the main directions of agricultural production.
- Pig breeding. This is the second most important branch. Its value is also difficult to overestimate. This direction is classified into meat, half-meat and bacon.
- Goat breeding and sheep breeding. The most widespread these areas are in the steppe zones, as well as in mountainous regions.
- Horse breeding. This industry is designed to provide the national economy with thoroughbred pedigree animals, sporting and productive.
- Camel breeding. This direction has been widely developed in the desert and semi-desert regions of Russia. Also from these animals get very high-quality wool and milk.
- Reindeer husbandry. This industry is a specialization of areas located in the tundra (Magadan, Arkhangelsk regions, etc.).
- Poultry farming. Another major livestock industry.
- Fur farming. The main objective of this direction is to provide the national economy with skins of small fur animals.
- Beekeeping. This industry is responsible for the production of a number of valuable products - honey, wax, royal jelly, bee venom, etc.
Industries and agriculture are directly related to each other. This concerns, of course, including animal husbandry. Without well-developed pig and cattle breeding, for example, the food industry is unlikely to be particularly cost-effective. If the state does not pay attention to industries such as animal husbandry and sheep farming, the Russian population will be left without its own warm things.
Geography of livestock in Russia
The location and specialization of this area are determined mainly by the presence of a food base for a particular group of animals. That is, animal husbandry as a branch of agriculture, although to a lesser extent than plant growing, is also dependent on natural and climatic factors.
Intensive dairy cattle breeding in our country is developed mainly in the European part - in the upper Volga and Dnieper. This is mainly the Moscow and Yaroslavl regions. The same direction is also characteristic of the south of the St. Petersburg region. They are engaged in cattle breeding in other regions of the European part of the country, as well as in the southern regions of Siberia in the Urals. However, in this case we are talking mainly about the meat and dairy direction of cattle breeding. It is also distributed to the north - in most of Siberia, but in these areas it is mostly extensive. In the circumpolar regions, reindeer husbandry was greatly developed. Most cattle are bred in the Urals, in the Volga and Central regions, as well as in the North Caucasus.
The cultivation of small cattle in our country has become very widespread in the Volga region, the North Caucasus, the Urals and Eastern Siberia. Sheepskin coat production is also well developed in the central regions of the European part of Russia. Pig breeding is practiced almost throughout the country. To a somewhat lesser extent, this direction is developed in the Far East.
What influences the development of agriculture
In addition to climatic and weather conditions, the following factors can influence the development of livestock and crop production in any state:
- The degree of support from the state. The more money invested in new technologies, the more profitable agriculture will be. Agricultural sectors of any direction very much depend on the number of subsidies. These funds mainly go to the development of innovative industries, the purchase of equipment, the development of new technologies.
- Carrying out measures to restore depleted soils in areas of intensive crop production. In order for a country to compete with other countries in the global agricultural market, there should be as much fertile land as possible on its territory.
- Another very important factor in the development of the economy of this particular country in the market is the presence of a healthy competitive environment. Major agricultural sectors are no exception.
- The state of science and technology. The more innovations are introduced, the more profitable livestock and crop production. Scientific progress is one of the main factors in reducing the cost of food.
Environmental issues
All agricultural sectors of Russia, in addition to the above factors, are directly dependent on the environmental situation. Unfortunately, in our country a predatory attitude to the riches of nature and mismanagement led to a significant deterioration of the situation in this regard.
In the steppe and forest-steppe zones, the ecological balance is severely disturbed mainly due to wind and water erosion. Meanwhile, the experience of creating landscapes with environmental sustainability was laid down at the end of the 19th century by V.V. Dokuchaev in the Voronezh region, in the Kamennaya Steppe tract. Now here is the Research Institute of Agriculture. This experience is definitely worth using today.
Violation of the ecological balance in deciduous-forest and forest-taiga zones is usually associated with drainage of swamps and uncontrolled deforestation.
How environmental problems can be solved in modern Russia
Fortunately, at the moment the situation in our country in this regard is beginning to change dramatically. The most important task of the recently created science - environmental economics - is not only an assessment of the state of the environment in the light of the possibility of its use, but also forecasting the development of ecological systems, attempts to foresee the future and the ability to manage them today. Of course, such an approach to the main sectors of agriculture will have a more than beneficial effect.
The main methods of greening modern land use at the moment are the preservation of biological organisms and the creation of natural environmentally friendly fertilizers based on mushrooms, bacteria and algae. The science of humus biology is tomorrow's farming.
The latest developments in this field are being introduced in all sectors of agriculture in Russia today. For example, in the Krasnodar Territory, herbicide-free technologies for the production of rice and corn are used. In some farms in the Omsk Region, the abandonment of pesticides and the use of new farming technologies have led to a significant increase in yield.
New methods include, for example:
- Drip irrigation, taken into service not only by large farms, but also by many owners of personal plots.
- Subsurface plowing.
- Natural biological seasonal crop rotation.
The plans awaiting implementation in the near future include the introduction of comprehensive and comprehensive monitoring of the natural environment. That is, monitoring her reaction to human activities and taking appropriate measures in advance. Of course, this will have a positive impact on agriculture. The agricultural sectors — livestock and crop production — will become profitable and profitable.
German agriculture
Reviving livestock and crop production in Russia, of course, you should pay attention to the experience of those countries where these industries are very well developed. Germany is often cited as an example. At the moment, much attention is paid to the development of agriculture in this country. The profitability of all its structures is heavily influenced by the impeccable and well thought out organization, as well as the rational and careful use of natural resources.
In the central regions of Germany and in the south of this country, the production of agricultural products is mainly carried out by owners of small farms. This situation becomes the cause of healthy competition, a powerful incentive for the introduction of the latest techniques. German agricultural sectors - livestock and crop production - bring huge profits to this country.
In our country, the possibility of implementing most projects and developing new technologies in animal husbandry and agriculture will largely depend on the perfection of the legislative framework in the near future. The rational management of the economy and the conservation of natural resources should be the priority tasks of the state. Perhaps in the future, the structure of the agricultural sector in Russia will resemble the German one. However, at the moment, the bulk of food in our country is produced by fairly large agricultural organizations.