truck farming, horticultural practice of growing one or more vegetable crops on a large scale for shipment to distant markets. It is usually less intensive and diversified than market gardening. At first this type of farming depended entirely on local or regional markets. As the use of railroads and large-capacity trucks expanded and refrigerated carriers were introduced, truck farms spread to the cheaper lands of the West and South, shipping seasonal crops to relatively distant markets where their cultivation is limited by climate. The major truck-farming areas are in California, Texas, Florida, along the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and in the Great Lakes area. Centers for specific crops vary with the season. Among the most important truck crops are tomatoes, lettuce, melons, beets, broccoli, celery, radishes, onions, cabbage, and strawberries.

Truck farming is the cultivation of one or a few fruit or vegetable crops on a relatively large scale for transport to distant markets where the crop cannot be grown due to climate.

This is contrasted to market gardening, where a variety of crops are grown on small farms for sale to local markets. Truck farms are larger, grow fewer types of crops, or only one type, and often grow seasonal crops. While truck and market farming both involve the cultivation of cash crops, a truck farm is even less likely to be a substantial food source for the farmer. Important truck crops include tomatoes, melons, onions, strawberries, citrus, potatoes, green vegetables and bananas.

References

• The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition