When we think of agriculture as a general society, we tend to think farmer. We tend to think of big tractors, open fields, pigs, cows, horses and all of the other animals we associate with a farm. However, agriculture doesn't, have to mean farming, nor does it have to mean farmer.
In my Agri-Business Management (ABM) class at Michigan State University, a large part of what we talk about is the Agri-Food System. The Agri-Food System is a system that describes all of the "players" involved in getting food from the farm gates, to your table. What many of us don't realize is, all of this is part of the huge field we call agriculture.
The first two parts of the Agri-Food System refer to an agriculture input supplier, or the businesses that supply producers with things like seeds, tractors, fertilizers, and many more. The next pat then, would be the producer, or the farmers, ranchers, greenhouse keepers, etc. that actually do the growing and producing of the crops we need. These are the two parts we tend to think of most when we think of agriculture. They're the most "farmy" of the Agri-Food System players, but they're definitely not the only ones.
The next few players are the assembler, the initial processor , and the manufacturer. These are the people who, store, transport and create the products we see on our dinner tables. The producer, to start, will store, and transport raw agricultural commodities, or the crops grown by the producers, bringing them to the different initial processors. The initial processors are the firms that will then turn these commodities into usable food ingredients, selling them to manufacturers. This leaves the manufacturers as the firms that take these food ingredients, and produce a final product. Whether it's Goldfish, bread, Wheat Thins, or a microwavable dinner, it's what we, as the consumers, eat.
The last few players in the system are the wholesalers, retailers, and producers. These players are involved in the storing, selling and consuming of final products. Wholesalers are big store markets, selling to smaller store retailers like grocery stores, hotels, hospitals, etc. These retailers buy in bulk from the manufacturer, and sell in small portions to the consumers, or us.
Why is all of this relevant?
Many people overlook agriculture as a career field when they associate it with just farming, especially woman. Farmers have a reputation for long days, but unfortunately lack the world's greatest pay. It's important for people to realize that agriculture is so much more than it's stereotypical big and tough man farming. With an understanding of this, we can ensure agriculture stays a diverse and welcoming field of study with a diverse set of minds bettering it everyday.
http://itgnewblog1wallpaperblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/wholesaler_9.html
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/topics/consumer-goods.html
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