Agriculture: agriculture. Branches of Agriculture in Russia

Agriculture is a special kind of activity aimed at growing, processing and manufacturing of products, as well as rendering corresponding services. Its main branches are animal husbandry and plant growing. On the extent to which agriculture will be developed as a branch of production of a particular country, the well-being of its people largely depends.

Characteristics of plant growing in Russia

There are a lot of land in our country and, it would seem, all the prerequisites for the successful development of this area of agriculture are available. However, unfortunately, Russia is geographically located in such a way that the climatic conditions and various kinds of natural factors limit the possibilities in this respect quite seriously. Crop production as a branch of agriculture in our country is quite a promising direction, however, only if new technologies and careful attitude to nature are used.

Only 35% of the Russian lands are located in a temperate climate, which is not bad for growing crops such as rye, wheat, oats, buckwheat, etc. Huge areas beyond the Arctic Circle are not suitable for plant growing. In addition, large areas in our country are taiga, where cultivation of land is a process, also associated with a huge number of difficulties.

Crop production as a branch of agriculture: basic directions

At the moment, the main areas of agriculture in Russia include:

• Grain economy. This direction is of paramount importance for the population of any country in the world, including our country. Bread can be considered the staple food of man. The most valuable fodder for farm animals is also produced from grain crops.
• Fodder production. This is the name of a system of various measures aimed at the production, harvesting and processing of animal feed. In this case, the land is used for growing mainly meadow crops, root crops, tubers, melons, etc.
• Cultivation of industrial crops. These include cotton, flax, sunflower, sugar beet, tobacco, etc.
• Vegetable growing and potato growing.
• Viticulture and gardening.

Geography of plant growing in Russia

So, the main branches of specialization of agriculture in our country are livestock and agriculture. Territorially, Russia is located in several climatic zones. On crop production, and in particular on the diversity of the composition of cultivated crops, this cause has an impact primarily.

So, wheat, which is demanding of the thermal regime, preferring nutrient loamy soils, a drought tolerant crop is enough, it is grown mainly in the steppe and forest-steppe zones. The range of growth of less fastidious rye has wider boundaries. Barley is common throughout the entire agricultural area of the country - from the cold northern regions to the arid southern.

Different types of industrial crops are also common in different zones. Sunflower, for example, grows very well in arid regions. The only thing - to get good crops, this culture should be planted only on a fairly fertile soil. Grow sunflower mostly in the steppe and forest-steppe areas of the European part of the country. Sugar beet, on the contrary, is very demanding on the moisture regime. Therefore, it became widespread mainly in the central and western areas of the forest-steppe zone.

Vegetable growing includes a huge number of crops that are attributed to different biological species. Therefore, it is well developed practically on the entire agricultural territory of Russia. The most common cultures of open farming are cabbage, tomatoes, pumpkin, onions, beets and carrots. They are grown on an industrial scale most often in places where there is access to water - along the shores of lakes, rivers and reservoirs. The largest centers of vegetable growing were formed in the lower reaches of the Volga and the Don and in the North Caucasus.

Horticulture is also an important area in the field of agriculture. The branches of agriculture connected with the cultivation of fruit and berry crops have also received a wide distribution in Russia, especially in its European part (the Volga region, the Krasnodar Territory). The greatest variety of fruit crops is observed in the North Caucasus. A lot of gardens are planted also in Bashkortostan and Altai.

Characteristic features of animal husbandry

This industry is also promising for our country. Suffice it to recall that before the crisis began at the end of the last century, it was one of the leading. Characteristics of the agricultural industry in this case will be incomplete without a short digression into history. In the Soviet Union livestock breeding, and in particular cattle breeding, was developed very well. However, the economic crisis of subsequent years has had more than negative impact on this direction. 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 year 2005, livestock breeding 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 farming) in our country can be considered more or less profitable. To some extent this is due to the development of private farms.

Key industries

So, what are the main directions of agriculture in this case? The branches of agriculture in livestock are the following:

• Cattle breeding. Breeding cattle along with growing cereals is one of the main directions of agricultural production.
• Pig breeding. This is the second most important branch. Its importance is also difficult to overestimate. This direction is classified into meat, semisal and bacon.
• Goat breeding and sheep breeding. The greatest distribution of these directions was obtained in the steppe zones, as well as in mountainous regions.
• Horse breeding. This industry is called upon to provide the national economy with pedigreed pedigree animals, sporting and productive.
• Camel breeding. This direction has received the widest development in the desert and semi-desert regions of Russia. Also from these animals get very high quality wool and milk.
• Reindeer herding. This branch is a specialization of the areas located in the tundra (Magadan, Arkhangelsk regions, etc.).
• Poultry farming. Another important branch of livestock.
• Fur farming. The main task of this direction is to provide the national economy with the skins of small fur-bearing animals.
• Beekeeping. This branch 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 one another. This concerns, of course, including animal husbandry. Without a well-developed pig and cattle breeding, for example, the food industry is unlikely to be particularly profitable. If the state does not pay attention to such branches as fur farming and sheep breeding, the population of Russia will remain without its own warm things.

Geography of livestock in Russia

The location and specialization of this direction are determined mainly by the availability of food for a particular group of animals. That is, livestock farming as a branch of agriculture, albeit in a smaller than plant growing, degree, but also depends on natural and climatic factors.

Intensive dairy cattle breeding in our country is developed mostly in the European part - in the upper reaches of the Volga and the Dnieper. Basically, this is the Moscow and Yaroslavl regions. This direction is also typical for the south of the St. Petersburg region. They are engaged in breeding cattle 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 north of most of Siberia, but in these areas it is mostly extensive. Reindeer breeding has developed in the subpolar areas. Most cattle are bred in the Urals, in the Volga and Central regions, as well as in the North Caucasus.

Very widespread cultivation of small cattle in our country has received in the Volga region, the North Caucasus, the Urals and Eastern Siberia. The sheepskin production is also well developed in the central regions of the European part of Russia. Pig breeding is practiced practically throughout the country. Somewhat less 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:

• Degree of support from the state. The more money will be invested in new technologies, the more profitable will be agriculture. The branches of agriculture in any direction depend very much on the amount of subsidies. These funds mainly go to the development of innovative production, the purchase of equipment, the development of new technologies.
• Carrying out measures to restore depleted soils in areas of intensive plant growing. In order for the country to compete with other states on the world market of agricultural products, as much as possible of the fertile land should be 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. The main branches of agriculture in this regard are no exception.
• The state of science and technology. The more innovations are introduced, the more cost-effective the livestock and crop production. Scientific progress is one of the main factors in reducing the cost of food.

Problems of nature management

All branches of agriculture in Russia, in addition to the above factors, directly depend 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 disrupted, mainly due to wind and water erosion. Meanwhile, the experience of creating environmentally sustainable landscapes was laid back at the end of the 19th century by VV Dokuchaev in the Voronezh Region, in the tract of Kamennaya Steppe. Now here is the Institute of Agriculture. This experience should definitely be used today.

Violation of the ecological balance in the forest, forest and forest-taiga zones is usually associated with draining the marshes and uncontrolled deforestation.

How can environmental problems 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 - the economics of nature management - is not only an assessment of the state of the environment in the light of the possibility of its use, but also the prediction of 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 branches of agriculture will have more than a beneficial effect.

The main methods of ecologizing modern land use at the present moment are the preservation of biological organisms and the creation of natural environmentally friendly fertilizers based on fungi, bacteria and algae. The science of biology of humus is tomorrow's day of farming.

The latest developments in this area are being introduced into all branches of Russia's agriculture today. For example, the Krasnodar region uses non-herbicidal technologies for the production of rice and corn. In some farms in the Omsk region, the refusal to use pesticides and the use of new farming technologies led to a significant increase in yields.

To new techniques can be attributed, for example:

• Drip irrigation, taken on board not only by large farms, but also by many owners of household plots.
• No plowing plowing.
• Natural biological seasonal circulation of crops.

To plans awaiting implementation in the near future, one can also include the introduction of comprehensive and comprehensive monitoring of the natural environment. That is, monitoring her reaction to human economic activity and taking appropriate measures in advance. Of course, this will have a positive impact on agriculture. The branches of agriculture - livestock and crop production - will become profitable and profitable.

Agriculture in Germany

Reviving the livestock and crop production in Russia, of course, should pay attention to the experience of those states where these industries are developed very well. Germany is often cited as an example. At present, much attention is paid to the development of agriculture in this country. The profitability of all its structures is largely influenced by an impeccable and maximally thoughtful 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 occupied by the owners of small farms. This situation is the reason for the emergence of healthy competition, a powerful incentive to introduce the latest techniques. The branches of German agriculture - livestock and plant growing - bring huge profits to this country.

In our country, the possibility of implementing most of the projects and developing new technologies in livestock and agriculture will largely depend on the perfection of the legislative framework in the near future. Reasonable management of the economy and conservation of natural resources should become the priority tasks of the state. Perhaps in the future the structure of the Russian agriculture industry will resemble the German one. However, at the moment, the largest share of food products in our country is produced by quite large agricultural organizations.