Farming Methods

Food Production Methods
Three Major Crop

Production Methods
■ Subsistence farming
■ Corporate/industrial agriculture
■ Sustainable agriculture
Subsistence Agriculture
■ Farmers grow what they and their families
need for the year.
■ Often there is very little land available to

subsistence farmers, so focus is on getting
maximum yield.
■ If there is any excess it may be used to

trade for other needed goods.
■ With little money available for synthetic

fertilizers or pesticides, animal manure and
other organic methods are often used to
farm.
Corporate/Industrial Agriculture
■ Is the business of agriculture, involved in

producing food on a massive scale
■ Encompasses not only the farm itself, but also the

entire chain of agriculture-related business,
including seed supply, agrichemicals, food
processing, machinery, storage, transport,
distribution, marketing, advertising, and retail
sales
■ Are often large companies owning hundreds of

smaller farms
■ Examples of corporate farming companies: Archer

Daniels Midland, Monsanto Company, and Cargill
Pros and Cons of Industrial
Agriculture
■ Large scale industrial farming can produce vast quantities of food and
feed fairly cheaply
■ Uniformity of product suits the needs of large scale food processors who
depend upon a reliable supply of large quantities of product with a
specific shape, size and appearance
■ However, by creating demand for uniformity in agriculture, we are
reducing the biodiversity of those domesticated plant and animal species
■ The number of wheat varieties in China has dropped from 10,000 in
1949 to 1,000 by the 1970s.
Sustainable Agriculture
■ The form of agriculture generally relies on
techniques such as crop rotation, green manure,
compost, and biological pest control to maintain
soil productivity and control pests.
■ Often, it excludes or limits the use of manufactured

fertilizers and pesticides and plant growth
regulators such as hormones, livestock antibiotics,
food additives, and genetically modified
organisms.
■ It can include organic certification, where

agricultural methods are internationally regulated
and legally enforced by many nations (more on
next slide).
Certified Organic Farmland by World Region (2000-

2008)
Organic Certification
■ Organic requirements vary from country to country (and even by state
sometimes—ex., Oregon Tilth) and generally involve a set of production
standards for growing, storing, processing, packaging, and shipping that
include
■ avoiding most synthetic chemical inputs, genetically modified organisms,
irradiation, and the use of sewage sludge.
■ using farmland that has been free from synthetic chemicals for a number of years
(often three or more).
■ keeping detailed written production and sales record.
■ maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non certified
products.
■ undergoing periodic on-site inspections by a certification agency.
Farming Practices:
Used with Production Methods
■ Monoculture
■ Polyculture
■ Slash and burn
■ Permaculture
Monoculture
■ Is the practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide
area
■ Is widely used in modern industrial agriculture
■ Advantages: allows for large harvests from minimal labor
■ Disadvantages: allows for quicker spread of diseases, loss of soil

structure, more soil erosion problems, and the farmer becoming
dependant on chemicals or GMO seeds to control pests and improve
soil fertility
Polyculture
■ Uses multiple crops in the same space, in imitation of the
diversity of natural ecosystems, and avoids large stands of
single crops (monoculture)
■ Is often used in sustainable and subsistence farming
■ Advantages: is less susceptible to disease, provides habitat

for more species, and increases local biodiversity, which
functions as biological pest control
■ Disadvantages: requires more labor, sometimes can produce

less yield than heavily fertilized or GMO crops
■ Historical Example: corn, beans, and squash “the three

sisters,” a Native American combination that maintained soil
fertility long term
Slash and Burn Agriculture
■ A patch of forest land is cleared by a combination of felling and burning, and

crops are planted, often used by subsistence farmers.
■ After two to three years, the fertility of the soil begins to decline, the land is
abandoned, and the farmer moves to a fresh piece of land elsewhere in the forest
to continue the process.
■ While the original land is left fallow, the forest grows again in the cleared area
and soil fertility and biomass is restored. After ten to fifteen years, the farmer may
return to the first piece of land.
■ It is sustainable on small scales, but large-scale use prevents soil fertility from
recovering and leads to deforestation and heavy erosion.
Permaculture –
One method of sustainable farming
■ Permaculture means creating a farm that mimics a natural ecosystem. It

is a way of
■ looking at a farm as a whole system.
■ observing how the parts relate and seeing connections between key parts.
■ applying ideas learned from long-term sustainable ecosystems.
■ Polyculture is one of the principles of permaculture.
■ Designing a farm to mimic a natural ecosystem (including components

and ecosystem services) maximizes output and minimizes inputs.
Major Livestock Production Methods
■ Raising livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, bison, emu, etc.) for meat, dairy, leather, wool, or
other uses requires land area to support animals.
■ Livestock can be produced (raised and fed) via three different methods:
■ Rangelands grazing
■ Pasturelands grazing
■ Concentrated animal feeding operations
■ For rangelands or pasturelands, animals must be moved periodically so the area can recover and
regrow grass and other plants used as food. Traditionally, cowboys or shepherds move the
animals from place to place.
■ In concentrated animal feeding operations, animals are not moved. Rather, farmers bring feed to
the feedlot for the animals. The feed may not be the animals’ natural food (grass or hay) but
rather grain grown for this express purpose (like corn).
Rangelands vs. Pasturelands
■ Rangelands are natural grasslands, ■ Pasturelands are primarily used for the production
shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and of domesticated forage plants for livestock.
deserts growing native vegetation.
■ They are usually private lands.
■ Types of rangelands include tallgrass
and shortgrass prairies, desert ■ They are managed with intensive agricultural
practices of seeding, irrigation, and the use of
grasslands and shrublands, woodlands,
fertilizers.
savannas, chaparrals, steppes, and
tundras.
■ They are usually public lands.
■ They are managed principally with

extensive practices such as managed
livestock grazing and prescribed fire.
Rangelands Management
■ Because rangelands are public lands, there are laws to regulate how
they can be used.
■ The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 provides for the regulation of grazing on
the public lands (excluding Alaska). Initially, it permitted 80 million acres of
public lands to be placed into grazing districts to be administered by the
Department of the Interior. As amended, the law now sets no limit on the
amount of lands in grazing districts. There are currently approximately 162
million acres inside grazing allotments.
■ The Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 manages, maintains,
and improves the condition of public rangelands; it charges a fee for public
grazing use.
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)
■ It is a type of animal feeding operation that is used in
large-scale farming for beef cattle, swine, horses, sheep,
turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter.
■ It may contain thousands of animals in an array of pens.

Close proximity requires that animals receive regular
antibiotics to reduce disease transmission.
■ It requires a governmental permit and plans to deal with

the large amount of waste that is generated.
■ The EPA has authority under the Clean Water Act to

regulate all animal feeding operations in the United
States.

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Food Production Methods

Three Major Crop

■ Often there is very little land available to

■ If there is any excess it may be used to

■ With little money available for synthetic

■ Is the business of agriculture, involved in

■ Encompasses not only the farm itself, but also the

■ Are often large companies owning hundreds of

■ Examples of corporate farming companies: Archer

■ Often, it excludes or limits the use of manufactured

■ It can include organic certification, where

Certified Organic Farmland by World Region (2000-

■ Is widely used in modern industrial agriculture

■ Advantages: allows for large harvests from minimal labor

■ Disadvantages: allows for quicker spread of diseases, loss of soil

■ Is often used in sustainable and subsistence farming

■ Advantages: is less susceptible to disease, provides habitat

■ Disadvantages: requires more labor, sometimes can produce

■ Historical Example: corn, beans, and squash “the three

■ A patch of forest land is cleared by a combination of felling and burning, and

■ Permaculture means creating a farm that mimics a natural ecosystem. It

■ Polyculture is one of the principles of permaculture.

■ Designing a farm to mimic a natural ecosystem (including components

■ They are usually public lands.

■ They are managed principally with

■ It may contain thousands of animals in an array of pens.

■ It requires a governmental permit and plans to deal with

■ The EPA has authority under the Clean Water Act to

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