Farming Flashcards
capital
- Money is vitally important when setting up a farm or trying to run one
- Subsidies and government
policies have helped but farming is having to become technological to survive. - As prices fall for farm products, there’s less investment inputs.
Market
The market is very important for a farmer. He must know that he is going to be able to sell his
produce at a good price, in order to make a profit.
politics
Government and International farming policies have had a huge impact on many farms around the
world.
Choice
- Farmer may have a number of choices over which type of farming he is going to do
- Determined by the climate, soils and the relief
- farmers are having to turn to
farming crops or animals that will bring them the most money,
Labor
- Every farm need workers
- In the old days there would
have been many people doing very labor-intensive jobs around the farm. - Farming becoming
mechanized the n.o. of people working on farms has diminished and many of those people
tend to be farm managers than doing the dirty work
Relif
- Relief of the land is a very important in determining the type of agricultural activity that can take place
- Flat, sheltered areas are usually best for crops as it’s easy to use machinery & there’ll be
the best climatic conditions for crop growth. Steep slopes are more likely to be used for sheep and cattle farming eg: valley of South Wales. - Countries such as Indonesia the steep slopes have
been terraced to allow rice to grow.
Soil
- Thick, well-irrigated, often alluvial soil is usually the best for crop farming.
In Britain the best soil for arable farming can be found in Norfolk - In hilly areas the soil tends to be thinner and less fertile, so it’s more suitable for pasture farming.
Physical Inputs
Naturally occurring things such as water, raw materials and the land
Human Inputs
Things like money, labour, and skills.
Processes
the actions within the farm that allow the inputs to turn into outputs eg: milking, harvesting and shearing.
Outputs
Negative outputs include waste
products and soil erosion. The positive outputs are the finished products, such as meat, milk and eggs, & money gained from the sale of those products.
Feedback
What is put back into the system eg: money, from the sale of the
outputs, and knowledge
Case study of water intensive subsistence farming: rice production lower Ganges (Bangladesh)
- Ganges river flows eastwards from the Himalayas through northern India and into Bangladesh.
- Much of Bangladesh very poor and a lot of the farming that
takes place is subsistence farming
2.The area around the Ganges is moist (especially during the monsoon sea), warm (over 20 degrees) and fairly fertile. - Because of the natural inputs growing can take place most of the year & intensively. 4. Growing rice is very labor intensive, rice paddies need
to be constructed to hold water, irrigation channels need to be dug, seedlings planted, weeds removed, and rice
harvested. Because most of paddies and plots of land are small, very little equipment is used. As well as
humans, animals like water buffalo are used. 5. Traditions means that plots of land are divided up after death
which makes the farms less productive as they get smaller - To try and improve yields in areas like the Ganges River the so-called green revolution started in the late 1960’s.
The green revolution was an idea to introduce western plant varieties and farming techniques, introduction of HYV crops which aimed to increase yields. Other changes: tractors, irrigation channels and chemical fertilizers
Advantages of HYV crops
- Yields increased three times
- Multiple cropping
- Other crops grown which varied the diet
- Surplus to sell in cities creating profit
- Improving standard of living
- Allows purchase of fertilisers, machinery
Disadvantages of HYV crops
- Poor farmers could not afford HYVs, fertilisers & machinery
- Some borrowed and ended up with large debts
- HYVs need more water and fertiliser, which is expensive
- Eutrophication caused by the increasing use of fertilisers
Case study: rice production lower Ganges (Bangladesh) Inputs
- Water buffalo
- Rice seeds
- Flat land (terrace)
- Labor intensive
- Hand tools
- Year round growing
season - 2 hectares of land
- Monsoon rain (June –
September) - Rich soil
- 90% of agricultural water in Asia is used in rice
production - 5000 litres of water =1
kilogram of rice - Paddie -fields
Case study: rice production lower Ganges (Bangladesh) processes
- Rice cultivation
- Caring for water buffalo
- Harvested in October
- Planted in November
- 2000 hours a year to farm
1 hectare of land
Case study: rice production lower Ganges (Bangladesh) Outputs
- Some wheat
- No profit
- Rice
- Rice seeds
- Manure used for
domestic fuel
Example 2: Large Scale Commercial Farming in Indiana
- Fair Oaks Farm is a large commercial farm occupying 30 square miles in NW Indiana
- Fair Oaks Farm lies within the Corn Belt, this is a region in which corn (maize) and soybeans are the dominant crops.
- good for the farming of these crops because soils are deep, fertile, and rich in organic material and
nitrogen and land is flat - The warm nights, hot days, and well-distributed rainfall of the region during the growing season are ideal conditions for raising corn.
- On average, the frost-free growing season in northern Indiana starts Apr 27 and ends Oct 7
- The Corn Belt area is a considerably diversified agriculturally
- Fair Oaks Farm is a farm that is considerably diversified. It produces feed grains and raises livestock for the
purpose of dairy farming and it also offers agritourism experiences. - An example of an agritourism experience is the Dairy Adventure Center where visitors can watch cheese and ice cream being made from an observation deck, take in a 4-D film or try to prep a fiberglass cow for milking in 19
seconds
Case study of commercial farming: Fair Oaks farms Indiana USA :Inputs
- 25,000 acres
- There are 10 dairy
barns - Each cow consumes 40 pounds of grain, 50
pounds of silage,
more than 30
gallons of water - Flat, green, good
grass, soil/
climate/ rainfall - Machinery
Case study of commercial farming: Fair Oaks farms Indiana USA : Processes
- 32,000 cows are
milked a day - 10 dairy barns milk
more than 3,000 cows a day - Cows are milked on a 72-cow carousel
- Milking time 8 1⁄2
minutes - Manure is converted into energy to reduce
waste and pollution - Cows milked 3 times a day
- 500 cows milked per hour
Case study of commercial farming: Fair Oaks farms Indiana USA : Outputs
- Produces enough
milk for 8 million people - 80 calves are born everyday
- 2.5 million pounds
of milk are
produced per day - Methane gas powers generators
Case study of commercial farming: Fair Oaks farms Indiana USA : extra Info
1 hour south of
Chicago (good
trading route)
- There is education
on importance on
milk/ calcium
- Welcomes 1⁄2
million visitors a
year
(diversification)
- Fair Oaks farm is a commercial dairy farm located in Indiana, USA. 2. The farm is actually a mixed farm(explain) 3.This region is good for the farming of crops because
soils are deep, fertile, and rich in organic material and nitrogen. 4. The warm nights, hot days, and
well-distributed rainfall of the region during the growing season are also ideal conditions for crop growth.
5.It’s located 1 hour south of the city of Chicago (population 2.7 million), on major transit routes, meaning it can sell its products to an area with large demand
6.The farm is located on 25,000 acres of
flat green land, this optimal for the business eg: flat land is best for arable farming as it allows crops
to easily be planted and harvested using machinery. As it is a large-scale commercial farm a lot of space is also
needed for various facilities, for example there are 10 dairy barns and a visitor’s centre for tourists. As it is
close to Chicago it has opportunities of tourism because Chicago very large city and attracts millions of
tourists, due to this Fair Oaks Farm has become an educational farm.
