Rural Unit Flashcards
What are the impacts of diversifying through Bison Ranching?
POSITIVE
- Some areas have been reseeded with native grasses on which 500 bison now graze
- In the 1990’s a Bison processing plant at Carrington was built , and significantly increased Farmer’s income
NEGATIVE
- This can lead to overgrazing which results in soil erosion
What are the impacts of diversifying through Tourist Accomodation?
POSITIVE
- Old farm buildings can be converted to provide tourist accommodation
- Some farmers have opened farm shops to sell some of their produce directly to customers. This increases farmers Income
What are the impacts of diversifying through Quad Biking?
POSITIVE
- Farmers can rent parts of their land out for action and adventure sports such as quad biking
NEGATIVE
- However this sort of activity generates a lot of noise pollution and can be harmful to native wildlife
What are the impacts of diversifying through Wind Farms?
POSITIVE
- Wind farm development on farming land generates extra income for farmers.
- The Great Plains has been called the “Saudi Arabia of Wind Energy” because its resources for wind power are so immense
NEGATIVE
- However many people are against the development of wind farms as they can be seen as an eyesore which cause visual pollution
What are the impacts of Precision Farming?
POSITIVE
- This leads to higher yields and more efficient use of irrigation and fertilisers
NEGATIVE
- This requires very expensive machinery and technology and so only well off farmers benefit
What are the impacts of new machinery?
POSITIVE
- Increased drop yield as work can be done faster and more efficiently
- Increased profit for the farmer
- Less physical work for people so this results in Fewer workers so less wages for the farmer to pay
- Crops are harvested faster so they are fresher
NEGATIVE
- Loss of Animal Habitats and shelter belts, as hedge rows were removed to increase field size, and accommodate large machinery
- Increase in Noise Pollution
- Fewer jobs available
- As people become unemployed they move away to find work, leading to rural depopulation
- Machines are expensive to buy and repairs can be costly
What are the impacts of sexed semen?
POSITIVE
- Thanks to Improvements in technology used to produce sexed semen, dairy farmers can expect 80-90% of calves born to be female
NEGATIVE
- Some query the ethics behind the practice of sexed semen
What are the impacts of leg sensors?
POSITIVE
- Detect when cows are ready to breed through heat detection therefore produce higher yields.
- Can detect if cows are going lame
- Can monitor their physical activity
- Identify each cow as it comes into the parlour to be milked
NEGATIVE
- This involves costly equipment which many smaller farmers cannot afford
What are the Impacts of Chemical fertilisers and Pesticides?
POSITIVE
- Increased crop yield as fertiliser makes crops grow better
- Fewer plants being eaten by pests so more crops to sell
NEGATIVE
- Increased river pollution due to chemical run-off
- Polluted river water leads to problems such as algal bloom which starves the river of oxygen affecting wildlife
What are the Impacts of Genetically modified crops ?
POSITIVE
- GM crops can withstand low temperatures and are resistant to pests and insects
- They can tolerate drought and can produce much higher yields
NEGATIVE
- Insects can eventually become resistant to GM crops
- GM crops could be too expensive for many farmers
- GM crops can be very damaging to other organisms
What are the Impacts of Organic Farming?
POSITIVE
- Food can taste better
- Stops chemicals from entering the human blood stream
- Sustainable method of farming
- No need to buy pesticides or fertilisers
- Less pollution of air or water
NEGATIVE
- Organic food is much more expensive
- More workers are needed to tend the crops (Puts prices up)
- It is more time consuming to grow organic produce
What are the Impacts of Government policy?
POSITIVE
- The US government set aside $16 billion dollars of
relief aid payments for US farmers in 2019.
- Much of the $16bn will go towards direct payments to
farmers of commodities such as soybeans and wheat.
- The government also plans to buy any unsold crops and to buy crops such as fruits and nuts and distribute
them to food banks and other government nutrition
programmes.
