What Is Mechanical Farming?

Mechanical agriculture, sometimes called mechanized agriculture, is the dominant form of plant and animal production in developed countries. Some of the first major farming machines were invented at the turn of the 18th century, such as Jethro Tull's seed drill. Since then, agriculture has become increasingly mechanized, using a large variety of powerful forms of machines and equipment, significantly increasing agricultural output.

  1. The Use of Machines

    • "Mechanical agriculture" is a broad term loosely applied to all modern farms and operations, generally noting the use of machines. In mechanical agriculture, the majority of work is done with the use of tractors and limited human labor. This differs from agricultural practices before the advent of machines, in which hand tools and extensive human labor was required. For example, instead of tilling a field with a hoe and planting seeds by hand, large plows, cultivators, and planters are used to complete the task more efficiently.

    Large Scale Farming

    • A characteristic that is common of operations that practice mechanical agriculture is that they tend to be large scale and sell products commercially. This is often required in many sectors of agriculture in order to make a profit. For example, a dairy farmer cannot survive by milking several cows by hand. Instead, he depends on the use of mechanized farming to feed, raise, and milk anywhere between 30 and 5,000 cows in order to turn a profit.

    Consequences

    • Several significant social and economic consequences occurred because of the advent of farm machines. Since a machine could replace the labor of multiple men, less people were required to work on farms. As a result, the number of people involved in the agriculture industry declined as farms grew. Mechanized farming also significantly increased the output of agricultural goods, and as a result, lowered their individual prices. Farms were forced to increase in size in order produce enough goods to stay in business, leading to increasingly larger operations.

    Civic Agriculture

    • The dominant form of agriculture in all developed nations is mechanized. However, many places on the globe still practice civic agriculture instead. Civic agriculture involves a small-scale setup, sometimes of only a few animals, of which the products are only sold locally. These nations typically do not have the resources in participate in large-scale agriculture. Civic agriculture is also present in the United States as consumers grow more interested in locally grown food, but it still only accounts for a fraction of all agricultural goods produced.