Farming in which growers specialise in raising vegetables on a commercial scale for distant city markets is known as:

Truck farming is a type of commercial farming in which farmers specialise in growing vegetables (and sometimes fruits and flowers) for sale in urban markets, often located some distance away. It is common in industrialised countries, especially in the United States and western Europe.

Origin of the name:

• The word "truck" here comes from the old meaning "to exchange or barter goods" (from the French "troquer"), not from the motor vehicle.
• In popular explanation, the distance of truck farms from the market is often related to the distance a truck can cover overnight, so that fresh produce reaches the market in the morning.

Features of truck farming:

• It is intensive and highly commercial, with high inputs of labour, capital, fertilisers and irrigation.
• Farms are usually small to medium in size.
• Farmers specialise in one or a few vegetables, such as tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, beans, onions or melons.
• It needs fast transport, often refrigerated trucks, and good roads, because vegetables are perishable.
• It often uses modern methods such as greenhouses, irrigation and mechanised harvesting.

Where it is practised:

• In the USA, truck farming is common along the Atlantic coastal plain, in Florida, and in California's valleys, which supply vegetables to distant cities.
• In Europe, the Netherlands is well known for intensive vegetable and flower production.

Market gardening:

Market gardening is a closely related type of farming in which vegetables, fruits and flowers are grown on small plots near large cities and sold directly in city markets. The difference is mainly the distance from the market: market gardens lie close to cities, while truck farms may be farther away.

Other types of farming:

• Ley farming: alternating crops with a few years of sown grassland used for grazing.
• Dairy farming: rearing cattle for milk, usually near cities.
• Plantation farming: large estates growing a single cash crop, such as tea, coffee or rubber.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Ley farming alternates crops with grassland.
• ✗Dairy farming produces milk, not vegetables.
• ✗Plantation farming grows tree crops on large estates.