Livestock - what is it?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In the economy of many countries, an important place is given to agriculture: crop production and animal husbandry. Our article tells about what these industries do, what types they are divided into.

Historical background

The emergence of animal husbandry goes back to ancient times, when a person, living next to wild animals, decided to tame them for use in the household. Through hard work over a long period of time, people have managed to change the nature of certain species living in the wild. After domestication, their productivity increased many times over. Animals have become for man:

• Food source: they provided meat, milk, eggs.
• They received raw materials (skins) from which they sewed clothes and built huts.
• Animals were used for transportation, as a labor force and for the protection of property (for example, dogs).

Animals suitable for domestication were cows, pigs, sheep, goats, deer, camels and some others. Scientists were able to establish that most of the species of these animals intersected in the Middle East. For the peoples living here, this served as a greatadvantage in development, resulting in the emergence of the first civilizations.

What is animal husbandry?

There are various industries: chemical, woodworking, engineering, food, light. Animal husbandry is an industry that belongs to agriculture. Its main task is to breed and maintain animals in order to produce and sell the products that are obtained from them.

The Importance of Animal Husbandry

Human life is unimaginable without agricultural products. Animal husbandry is the main element in the agro-industrial complex. This industry is one of the main ones. Thanks to it, the population is provided with meat and lard, milk and eggs, and light industry with leather, wool, bristles and many others. In addition, animal husbandry is a supplier of live draft power. The industry is engaged in breeding horses, camels, oxen, deer, mules, donkeys. Animal husbandry is of great importance as a supplier of organic fertilizer.

Products and waste of the industry are used to obtain feed: meat and bone meal, skim milk and much more. They go to the manufacture of hormonal preparations, therapeutic serums and other medicines. So, the manifestation of the basics of animal husbandry is carried out through the elements of the agro-industrial complex, interconnected.

In economically developed countries, animal husbandry is the leading sector of the economy is not accidental, because the products of this area make up 60% of the diet.

Analysisin animal husbandry

For the proper management of the economy and making a profit, analysis is of great importance, which is carried out according to various indicators. On the example of cows, it looks like this:

• Determine the number of livestock and the structure of the herd. It takes into account what type of animals are kept, how many of them, including young animals.
• Find out the volume of products received during the accounting period. It is determined what type of product, how much (in tons) of milk and meat is received, what is the offspring of calves.
• Clarify the productivity of animals. They analyze the annual milk yield per cow, the number of calves from 100 cows and the average daily (meaning meat) weight gain in grams.

Types of animal husbandry

This branch of agriculture is very extensive. Animal husbandry is a direction that is engaged in the breeding of cattle and small cattle and pigs, horses and camels, sheep and goats, mules and donkeys, rabbits and dogs, birds and fish, bees, fur animals and many others. The direction of the industry depends on the area to which conditions certain species of animals are adapted. For example, llamas and camels are not bred in the northern regions, and arctic foxes and minks are not bred in the southern regions. However, there are animals that can be found in the agro-industrial complex of almost every country. These are chickens, cows, pigs, rabbits, horses and others.

Cattle breeding

Currently, this direction is the main branch of animal husbandry. The main task is to breed large and small hornedcattle. Animals are divided into meat and dairy. The level of provision of consumers with milk and meat depends on the development of cattle breeding. The indicators of this industry affect the work of light industry enterprises that produce wool clothing and household items.

Pig breeding

This branch of the industry supplies the population with livestock products such as meat, lard. In Russia, it is developed in the regions of the Central Black Earth Region, in the Caucasus, in the Volga region. Meat, tallow, bacon, ham pigs are raised here.

Horse breeding

This industry is engaged in breeding animals of this species. In addition, horses in the national economy are of productive and sporting importance. Horse breeding has developed in the North Caucasus and Altai, in the south of Siberia and the Urals, in Yakutia and Buryatia.

Sheep breeding

This direction is engaged in breeding sheep and goats. Animals provide man with meat, milk, wool, down. Their skin goes to the production of chrome, husky, chevro. From the sheep of the karakul breed, valuable fur is obtained - karakul. Milk is used to make feta cheese and other types of cheese.

Poultry farming

This branch of the industry is common in any country. It provides consumers with meat, eggs, feathers, down. Since the main food of the bird is grain, it is bred in areas where it grows: in the North Caucasus, in the Volga region, the Black Earth region. Poultry farming is also developed in densely populated regions (North-West,Central) located near big cities.

Beekeeping

An equally popular direction in agriculture is bee breeding. Thanks to its development, the population is provided with honey, royal jelly, and wax. The areas of use of these products are very diverse, but the main ones are the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Fur farming

The industry is engaged in the breeding of such fur-bearing animals as nutrias, arctic foxes, minks and others. The main products are skins, which are used to sew hats, outerwear, accessories and much more.

Crop production

Its basis is grain farming, which occupies half of all areas in the world. Grains, like potatoes, form the basis of the human diet. It is a raw material base for such an industry as the food industry. Grain uses cereal, flour-grinding, mixed fodder alcohol. The world's most important crops are wheat, corn and rice.

Wheat is grown in 70 countries of the world, but most of it is in Canada, America, Australia, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. These states are the main breadbaskets of the world.

The appearance of rice on our tables we owe to China and India, from where the culture spread widely to other regions. Currently, rice is grown in 100 countries of the world, but 9/10 of the total grain harvest comes from Asian countries such as China, Japan, India, the Philippines, Indonesia.

The country where corn originated is Mexico, where it comes fromquickly spread throughout the world. Corn is used as a fodder crop and as a food crop. The leading country in the cultivation of corn is the United States. In addition to cereals, a person uses for various purposes such crops as vegetables (potatoes), sugar-bearing crops (sugarcane), oilseeds (sunflower), fruit crops.

Types of crop production

Crop production is divided into the following types:

• Cereals. These crops for humans and animals are the main ones in the diet.
• Oil crops. They are raw materials for the production of vegetable oil.
• Potato growing. All tubers belong to this direction.
• Viticulture. The task of this direction is the cultivation of grapes for the production of wine. To this end, breeders are developing many new varieties that are of high quality.
• Gardening. This direction is multifaceted. They also grow fruit trees of various types, and berry bushes.
• Melon growing. The crops of this industry include melons and watermelons.
• Floriculture. Flowers are grown not only for pleasure, but also for profit. To make the business profitable all year round, they build greenhouses where flowers grow in winter.
• Cotton growing. Without the products of this industry, weaving production will not work. Cotton does not grow everywhere. His plantations are located in Uzbekistan.

Crop production is a very important industry for the national economy, as it provides people and animals not only with food, but alsoraw materials for the manufacture of clothing, medicines, cosmetics.