Agriculture

While many cultures have different experiences with agriculture, when I hear the word I automatically think of farming, but more specifically, corn. While it may seem odd that the only crop I think of is corn, my past experiences have shaped this reaction.

I lived in Iowa for five years when I was younger and had a cornfield in my backyard. This experience of constantly being exposed to a farm full of corn is my first main reason for thinking of the crop automatically.

After living in Iowa for the five years, my family and I moved to Glenview, a suburb of Chicago. While living there, I did not get much exposure to agriculture as I define it. However, this changed when I started to drive up north to visit my sister in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and to drive to school in Minnesota. Along the way of both drives, I would pass what seemed to be endless farmland, with a large majority of it being corn. I would always be fascinated by the sheer magnitude of crop per farm, and would specifically notice that the corn was always planted in nice, straight lines.

While I specifically think corn when I hear the word agriculture, others are more than likely going to have a different reaction to the word. I believe that the reasoning behind this is the difference in culture and experiences we all have.

On Wikipedia, Agriculture is defined as the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. This is a relatively broad term, and because of that, is subject to different interpretations from people with different experiences in life. Agriculture is different in every culture, and someone with a different experience will have a different definition of the word.

(photo courtesy of http://actionallen.blogspot.com/)