3.2 Agricultural system definitions Flashcards
What is a system?
A systemis a group of interacting or interrelated entities that form a unified whole.
What is an input?
Inputs are the resources that are used in farm production. These can be physical inputs provided by nature (e.g. climate) or human inputs provided by people (e.g. money).
What is a process?
Processes are the actions within the farm that allow the inputs to turn into outputs.
What is an output?
Outputs are the products of the agricultural system. These can be negative outputs (waste products and soil erosion) or positive outputs are the finished products, such as meat, milk and eggs.
What is feedback?
Feedback is what is put back into the system. The main two examples of this are money, from the sale of the outputs, and knowledge, gained from the whole manufacturing process. This knowledge could then be used to make the product better or improve the efficiency of the processes.
What are some physical inputs?
- Climate (temperatures, precipitation sunshine)
- soil
- land and its relief
What are some human inputs?
- Capital (money)
- Labour
- machinery and tools
- seeds
- social structures
- government influence
- market influence
- fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides.
What are the processes for growing crops?
Ploughing
sowing
spraying
harvesting
What are the processes for rearing animals?
- Grazing and feeding
- making hay and silage
- milking cows and shearing sheep
- calving and lambing
What are some positive outputs?
- Crops
- meat
- milk
- Industrial products
What are some negative outputs?
Negative outputs are:
- waste products
- soil erosion
What are some feedbacks?
Some feedbacks include:
- profit
- manure
- animal feed
- seeds
- knowledge
