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Inputs, processes and outputs

Classifying Farms 1 – By what is grown (Processes)

Subsistence and Commercial Farming

Subsistence farmers grow food for themselves and their families.

Their farms are usually small and they do not have enough money to invest in chemicals or machinery.

Subsistence farmers usually live in LEDCs (Less Economically Developed Countries).

Commercial farmers sell their produce.

Their farms are usually larger, and more modern.

In practice, most farmers sell or trade at least part of their produce – there are few true subsistence farmers.

Intensive and Extensive Farming

Intensive farming involves getting the maximum possible yield from the land. This means putting in a lot of inputs.

Extensive farming involves using very few inputs.
It usually needs a lot of land instead.

Why has farming changed?

Since the 1940s, the use of machinery on farms has increased enormously.

  Farm machinery is now bigger and much more effective.

  Fewer people are now needed to farm the land, because much of the work is done by machines.

  Mechanization has also changed the layout of farms. 

Hedges have been removed to enlarge fields so that they can be farmed more   efficiently.

Farm tracks have been improved so that large combined harvesters and other machinery can use them.

In 1973, the UK joined the EU (European Union). The idea was for European countries to work together to achieve economic development.

  All EU members are subject to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which regulates farming in the EU.

  The CAP gives subsidies to some farmers to increase production, and imposes
quotas on others to limit production.

Diversification means branching out into activities, other than just growing crops and rearing animals.

One reason for diversification is the Common Agricultural Policy. The CAP pays farmers to ‘set aside’ land – they are not allowed to use this land for agriculture, but they can use it for other activities such as tourism.

Another reason is that recent food scares have shown that it is dangerous to rely on only one product. 

Environmental Impact of Farming

The use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides have vastly increased global agricultural yields.

Globally, over a hundred million tonnes of artificial fertilizers and pesticides are used every year.

Fertilizers

What are artificial (or mineral) fertilizers?

Fertilizers generally encourage plant growth.

They come in salt or liquid form and are mixed with water so that plants can absorb them as a weak solution.

Artificial fertilizers are specifically designed for a particular crop. For example, a plant grown mainly for its leaves will need a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content.

Farmers spray about 150-200 kg of fertilizer onto every hectare of cereal crop. This can be washed into rivers and lakes causing eutrophication.

Pesticides

A pesticide is a substance used to prevent, destroy or repel a pest.

The pests you want to control could be insects, mice and other animals, weeds, fungi or micro-organisms (bacteria or viruses).

Genetically Modified (GM) foods

All organisms have genes. Genes contain a sort of code that tells each organism how to develop. GM crops have had their genes altered by scientists.

Some farm animals and crops have been ‘genetically modified’ for centuries using selective breeding.

However, modern genetic engineering allows scientists to mix genes from plants and animals that would never normally be able to breed together.  For example, a gene from a fish could be put into a tomato.

In less economically developed countries, farms are usually smaller and worked primarily to provide food for the farmer and his family.

Farmers in LEDCs usually have almost no money to invest in their farms. They cannot afford things like pesticides, artificial fertilizers or agricultural machinery.

As a result, their yields are usually low compared to farmers in more economically developed countries (MEDCs).

What is subsistence farming?

Subsistence farming means growing food just to feed yourself and your family.

A true subsistence farmer does not produce any surplus food that could be sold or bartered for other goods.