Big Agriculture

Extracted Attributes

Agriculture in Russia

Agriculture in Russia is an important part of the economy of the Russian Federation. The agricultural sector survived a severe transition decline in the early 1990s as it struggled to transform from a command economy to a market-oriented system. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, large collective and state farms – the backbone of Soviet agriculture – had to contend with the sudden loss of state-guaranteed marketing and supply channels and a changing legal environment that created pressure for reorganization and restructuring. In less than ten years, livestock inventories declined by half, pulling down demand for feed grains, and the area planted to grains dropped by 25%. The use of mineral fertilizer and other purchased inputs plummeted, driving yields down. Most farms could no longer afford to purchase new machinery and other capital investments. Following a nearly ten-year period of decline, Russian agriculture has experienced gradual ongoing improvement. The 2014 devaluation of the rouble and imposition of sanctions spurred domestic production; in 2016, Russia exceeded Soviet Russia's grain production levels, and in that year became the world's largest exporter of wheat. In recent years, Russia once again emerged as a big agricultural power, despite also facing various challenges. Geopolitical analyses of climate change adaptation foresee large opportunities for Russian agriculture during the rest of the 21st century as Siberia's arability increases. Managing migration flows, internal and international, is expected to be a central aspect of the process.

Web Search Results

• What 'Big Agriculture' means to Liberals & Conservatives - AllSides

  overwhelmingly favor big agriculture. For instance, 75% of agricultural subsidies go to the 10 biggest corporate agricultural producers. In essence, through ag. subsidies ordinary taxpayers are forced to pay multimillionaires to produce corn, soy, and other cash crops. [...] On the other hand, proponents of large-scale agriculture (their preferred term) point to trends in population growth and claim that only large corporations can raise the food needed to feed ten billion people. They point out the narrow and sometimes naive views of people who complain about “big agriculture” while simultaneously expecting fresh, healthy, and inexpensive food to appear year-round in their supermarkets. The only realistic solution to food security, say these proponents, is to [...] Seeing big agriculture per se as a problem is most prominent among liberals, who are in favor of greater regulation and oversight over the growth of crops. Those on the right are generally more willing to believe that robust market forces will “weed out” agricultural corporations that fail to meet public needs, and that government oversight is likely to make the problem worse instead of better. That said, there is substantial concern on the right regarding agricultural subsidies, which

• America's Big Agriculture Problem Is Getting Worse

  Nitrate from fertilizer and manure befouls countless waterways and kitchen taps across the US. But unlike other big polluters, from petroleum to plastics, Big Agriculture has largely avoided responsibility for its dirty footprint. In no state is this arguably clearer than Iowa, where the multibillion-dollar corn industrial complex of farmers, food processors, tractor makers, chemical companies, ethanol producers and their lobbyists reigns supreme. [...] ### Description 725913 views Posted: 8 Sep 2025 [...] # America’s Big Agriculture Problem Is Getting Worse ## Bloomberg Originals 4900000 subscribers 13076 likes

• Five reasons why big agribusiness loves the House Farm Bill

  Most of us were fast asleep in the early hours of May 24 when the House Agriculture Committee approved its version of the Farm Bill. But not big agribusiness lobbyists, who surely celebrated into the morning after seeing their top priorities included in the bill. The agribusiness lobby showed once again why it is considered one of the most powerful on Capitol Hill. [...] The massive production of corn (90 million acres) and soybeans (86 million acres) benefits multiple agribusiness sectors. Farm implement, seed, pesticide, fertilizer and crop insurance companies benefit from the corn/soy complex in the planting phase. Grain, meat, poultry, dairy and biofuel companies depend on these crops for feedstocks. The House Farm Bill further locks in the corn/soy complex and takes steps to expand it. [...] possible.

• Sustainable Agriculture: A Global Conservation Frontier

  # Sustainable Agriculture Agriculture is the world's largest industry. It employs more than one billion people and generates over $1.3 trillion dollars worth of food annually. Pasture and cropland occupy around 50 percent of the Earth’s habitable land and provide habitat and food for a multitude of species.

• 10 things you should know about industrial farming

  ### 9. It entrenches inequality. Although small farms make up 72 per cent of all farms, they occupy just 8 per cent of all agricultural land. In contrast, large farms–which account for only 1 per cent of the world’s farms–occupy 65 per cent of agricultural land. This gives large farms disproportionate control, and there is little incentive to develop technologies that could benefit resource-poor small-hold farmers, including those in developing countries. [...] Industrial agriculture produces mainly commodity crops, which are then used in a wide variety of inexpensive, calorie-dense and widely available foods. Consequently, 60 per cent of all dietary energy is derived from just three cereal crops–rice, maize and wheat. [...] There was a time when industrial agriculture seemed to be a panacea for a fast-growing world. Synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides and high-yield cereal hybrids promised to reduce hunger, accommodate growing populations and stimulate economic prosperity. Between 1960 and 2015, agricultural production more than tripled, resulting in an abundance of low-cost fare and averting global food shortages.