Every time a person goes to the store and buys food, that food was grown by a farmer or contains ingredients from the farmer's crops. Being a farmer is a good job because the work he does helps provide food to the world. Without farmers, many people would go hungry not knowing how to grow their own food. Without farmers, many other products, besides food, would disappear. Farmers work hard for long days and often go unnoticed; however, without them life would be very different. Agriculture has been an occupation since 8,500 BC. In that year in the Fertile Crescent agriculture began for the first time when people cultivated plants instead of harvesting them from the wild. Then, almost 5,000 years later, oxen, horses, pigs and dogs were domesticated. During the Middle Ages the nobles divided their lands into three camps. The reasoning was to plant two and let one recover. This marked the beginning of crop rotation, which is an important part of agriculture today. Burning the forest and then moving it to another area is an agricultural technique used by the Maya called slash and burn. Mayan farmers were also able to drain swampy areas for cultivation by purchasing canal construction. In 1701 Jethro Tull invented the seed drill and the horse-drawn method of cultivating the land. In Denmark they planted turnips in the previously uncultivated field. Turnips help restore nutrients to the soil thus crop rotation is born. In England people began to move fields closer to each other for a more efficient way of planting. Later, in the 18th century, selective breeding was introduced which made livestock larger, stronger and more productive. In the mid-1800s the steam plow was invented. By 1950, tractors, milkers and combines were used by most farmers. The last f...... middle of paper ...... of people since it started. Over hundreds of years it evolved into what is known today. Farming is a difficult job that requires a wide variety of skills. It's not difficult to start a career in agriculture, but it's difficult to succeed. Farming is a great job but requires a lot of hard work. As Weaver previously stated, “I love my job more and more every day!” Works Cited "Agricultural Workers" bls.Np, 31 August 2012.Web. November 25, 2013.Gurney, Gene and Chiara. Agricultural careers. New York: Franklin Watts, 1978. The essay "How to Become a Farmer." Np, ndWeb.25 November 2013.Weaver, Paul. Personal interview. December 1, 2013.Stone, Archie. Careers in the agri-food and industrial sector. Danville: The Interstate Printers & Publishers, Inc., 1970.Lambert, Tim. A Brief History of Agriculture. Local history. Np, nd Web. November 25 2013.