As a result, about 40 percent of the world’s arable land is now used to grow animal feed, with all the attendant environmental costs related to factors such as deforestation, water use, fertilizer runoff, pesticides and fossil fuel use. Bob Holmes, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Aug. 2022 With much of the arable land devoted to livestock, the best fruits and vegetables turned out to all be imported from elsewhere. Jay Cheshes, Robb Report, 20 Aug. 2022 A few years ago, China bought nearly one-tenth of Ukraine’s arable farmland. Elisabeth Braw, WSJ, 29 June 2022 Now humanity finds itself on a collision course with a fresh set of limitations: the agricultural sector has consumed half of the earth’s arable land while destabilizing the climate whose relative stability had made agriculture possible. Jeff Mcmahon, Forbes, 30 June 2022 When the wetlands dried up, the land became arable. Susie Cagle, Wired, 12 Apr. 2022 Nepal’s agriculture ministry estimated that about 30 percent of arable land, mainly in hilly areas, was no longer being used.New York Times, 14 June 2022 Only 7 percent of arable land in Cuba is irrigated.Washington Post, 21 May 2022 Many tribes found themselves on reservations that lacked sufficient arable land, water or other resources.AZCentral.com, 20 May 2022
Noun
About 13% of the land is arable, with microclimates suited to nearly every crop.The Economist, 28 May 2020 Today, the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon run the estate, spanning 5,000 acres with 4,000 acres of arable farming. Rachel King, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2019 For centuries, Knepp Castle’s 3,500-acre estate was devoted to intensive arable and dairy farming.National Geographic, 16 June 2018 Traditionally, the arable farmer has fought against two enemies: weather and weeds. Bella Bathurst, Newsweek, 29 May 2014 With the advent of arable and animal agriculture, fishing alone, of the three ancient ways of obtaining food—the other two being hunting and plant foraging—has remained vital to human civilisation.The Economist, 14 Dec. 2017 The pigs are raised in arable bliss by doting artisanal farmers (a marketing narrative orchestrated to sell consumers on the Frankenswine). Emily Poenisch, Esquire, 29 June 2017 But local governments that have relied for years on land sales to fund growth can circumvent restrictions by counting marginal land as arable, or re-zoning urban areas as farms. Bloomberg News, Bloomberg.com, 19 May 2017 April is also high season for sandstorms, a result of desertification—the transformation of arable, hospitable land into desert.National Geographic, 21 Apr. 2017 See More
Word History
Etymology
Adjective and Noun
Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin arabilis, from arare to plow; akin to Old English erian to plow, Greek aroun