Commercial Farming – Farming to sell produce for a profit to retailers or food processing companies

To remember the meaning of the term Commercial Farming, use the following mnemonic:

The TV commercial on farming (commercial farming) showed the farmer growing crops to make money.

Commercial farming usually means farming on a large scale, using few workers but plenty of machinery and technology. A commercial farm usually produces one crop, so it is a "monoculture". The crops, for instance coffee or flowers, are often called "cash crops".

There are arguments in favour of commercial farming – for instance, economy of scale and high productivity. However, many are against it. They claim it is leading to the destruction of rain forests; it pushes up the price of land because its use of vast acreages creates a shortage; growing the same crop on the same land season after season can lead to mineral depletion and plant diseases; and commercial farms tend to use chemicals that can harm people and the environment.

There's also the argument that commercial farming mostly does not help local or regional communities because the farms are owned by big business and the crops are mostly exported.