Discuss the Location and Characteristics of Commercial Grain Farming industry around the world.
Commercial Grain Farming is an extensive agricultural activities whereby crops are grown for commercial purpose. Most commonly commercial grown grains are wheat and maize. It is mostly practiced in temperate grasslands of North America, Europe and Asia. Such areas are sparsely populated and have large farms spread from hundreds to thousands of hectares. In the areas of semi-arid climate, productivity is relatively lower. However, due to a large area and small local consumption, these regions produce a large surplus of food grains for export.
Key Characteristics
The regions under Commercial grain farming are away from coasts and are generally semi-arid so specialize only for single crop a year (monocropping). The farms are very large due to availability of large tracts of land. It is extensive farming, highly mechanised and characterized by low yield per area of land.
Commercial grain farming of wheat
There are four major areas in the world known for commercial farming of wheat. These are US and Canadian Prairies; Eurasian Steppes; Argentine Pampas and Downs of Australia.