Farming - the essentials! (for Ipswich Scholars only)

Transcription

1 Farming - the essentials! (for Ipswich Scholars only) Classification of farming types Arable - is the growing of crops Pastoral - is the keeping of animals Mixed - is when farmers grow crops and keep animals Subsistence Farmers - produce food for themselves and their family, there is no profit Commercial Farmers - sell their crops and animals to make a profit Intensive Farming - high inputs of money, labour or technology to achieve high outputs Extensive - Low inputs, large areas of land, low outputs or yields per hectare Sedentary - when the settlement is permanent and the landscape farmed every year Nomadic - when farmers move around looking for fresh pasture (grass) or new plots to cultivate Farming as a system Any farm can be viewed as a system, with inputs, throughputs (or processes), outputs and feedback. ( The diagram below shows how these link together). Inputs can be divided into two groups. Physical inputs are naturally occurring things such as water, raw materials and the land. Human or Cultural Inputs are things like money, labour, and skills. Processes or Throughputs are the actions within the farm that allow the inputs to turn into outputs. Processes could include things such as milking, harvesting and shearing. Outputs can be negative or positive, although they are usually the latter. Negative outputs include waste products and soil erosion. The positive outputs are the finished products, such as meat, milk and eggs, and the money gained from the sale of those products. 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.

2 Factors affecting farming choices Capital: Money is vitally important when setting up a farm, or trying to run one. Subsidies and government policies have helped in some cases but they have also meant that farming is having to become more efficient and technological to survive. As prices fall for farm products, so the farmer's profits also fall, meaning he can employ less people and buy less seeds and animals for the following year. It is a vicious downward trend experienced in many farming communities. Choice: the farmer may have a number of choices over which type of farming he is going to follow. Normally this is determined by the climate, soils and the relief. However farmers are increasingly having to turn to farming crops or animals that will bring them the most money, rather than which ones may be best suited to the area. Climate: One of the most important factors in deciding what type of farming might occur in a certain area. The important considerations for farmers are the hours of sunshine, the average temperature and the amount of rainfall. Labour: Every farm needs workers, and so farms need these sources of labour. In the old days there would have been many people doing very labour intensive jobs around the farm. However, with farming becoming increasingly mechanised the numbers of people working on farms has diminished and many of those people tend to be more like farm managers rather than actually getting out and doing the dirty work. 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. Quotas and subsidies have been brought in to try to help farmers as the prices of their produce have fallen over the last twenty years. Farmers increasingly have to decide exactly what they are going to grow by the price that they will get for their produce. Politics: Government and International farming policies have had a huge impact on many farms around the world. In Europe the Common Agricultural Policy and EU regulations have meant that farmers are protected and that their produce will be bought. However they have also meant some farmers have had to completely change what they are growing to suit the new regulations. Relief: The relief of the land is a very important factor in determining the type of agricultural activity that can take place on it. Flat, sheltered areas are usually best for crops as it is easy to use machinery and there will be the best climatic conditions for crop growth. Steep slopes are more likely to be used for sheep and cattle farming, such as in the valley of South Wales. However in countries such as Indonesia the steep slopes have been terraced to allow rice to grow. Soils: Thick, well-irrigated, often alluvial (deposited by a river) soil is usually the best for crop farming. In Britain the best soil for arable farming can be found in Norfolk and other Eastern areas of the country. In hilly areas the soil tends to be thinner and less fertile, meaning it is more suitable for pasture farming.

3 Farming in the UK The main types of farming that you would find in the UK are arable, dairying and hill farming. Many farms are actually mixing some or all of these in an attempt to make more money. Most farming in Britain tends to be intensive although some of the hill farms of Wales and Scotland could be described as extensive. All of them are commercial. The map below shows where these main farming types occur: The only other farm type that is not really shown on the map is market gardening.this is the growing of vegetables and fruits, usually in huge greenhouses. Farming Types in Britain: Climate Soils Relief Arable (e.g. East Anglia) Warm summers, cold frosty winters. Average temperatures of 18 C or more. Low rainfall, falling during the growing season mainly. Fertile boulder clays, which are easy to plough. Generally flat, so it easy for machinery to be used on it. Dairying (e.g. Devon) Warm summers and mild winters mean that pasture is available all year long. High rainfall also encourages fast grass growth. Fertile enough for good pasture growth, but not for arable crops. Gently sloping, the green rolling hills of the UK. Cattle can not cope with land that is too steep. Hill Farming (sheep) (e.g. Wales) Cool summers, cold winters and plenty of rainfall all contribute to these areas being unsuitable for arable farming but good for grass growth. Thin, poor soils that can be easily eroded and would not be good enough for other forms of farming. Hilly, steep land that would not be suitable for machinery or cattle. Sheep can cope with the slopes though. Market Gardening Temperature and water is usually controlled carefully by being in huge greenhouses. Soil is brought in to provide the best nutrients for the crops. The greenhouses themselves need flat land on which to be built.

4 * (e.g. East Anglia) Fertilisers are used extensively. * Often the biggest requirement of market gardening is the transport routes needed to take the products to shops and supermarkets for sale. Often products have to be sold within 24 hours of being produced. Human factors also play a huge role in determining where different farming types are located. The Common Agricultural Policy and other regulations have encouraged arable farming more than dairying or hill sheep farming, and this has led to many farms becoming mixed farms. Both dairy farms and market gardens require excellent transport links to their markets as they are producing goods that will quickly go off. Arable farming and market gardening require large capital inputs, whilst sheep farming and dairying require much less.however arable farms and market gardens tend to be the more profitable also. A Hill Sheep Farm in the Lake District Location: Lake District, U.K. Categories: Pastoral, Commercial, Extensive Inputs Processes Outputs Physical Human Relief : upland with steep Market : small in local Lambing Lambs sold for slopes Soils : thin, rocky, acid and leached podsols area. Very difficult accessibility to large markets in the lowlands Shearing Dipping fattening in the lowland (for meat) Climate : 1 C fall in temperature every 160 metres. Short growing season. Over 2000mm annual rainfall Labour : little available in sparsely-populated uplands Capital : often little profit to reinvest Fertilising Tourism Fodder crops Wool fleeces Profit Money from bed and breakfast Politics : EU subsidies and grants help some farmers to have a minimum standard of living Machinery : quadbikes Characteristics of a Hill Sheep Farm There are three zones of land use: The fell: the tops of the hills over 300m altitude sheep graze on this open land in the summer; The intake or lower slopes: divided into fields by dry stone walls, some pasture is improved by adding drainage and fertilisers;

5 The inbye: the small area of land on the valley floor close to the farm buildings more fertile soils and sheltered. Used for lambing, shearing etc. and for growing some winter fodder crops, e.g. turnips, hay. Recent Problems Hill sheep farming is not always profitable the land is marginal. The threat of removal of subsidies from the EU. EU Quotas (limits) on the number of sheep that can be kept. Foot and mouth disease has restricted sheep movement and sales. Radioactive fall-out from the Chernobyl accident (1986) affected mountain grazing land. Restrictions on sheep sales is still in force in some areas. Costs, e.g. fuel, machinery, fodder, have all risen. Lamb prices in the late 1990s collapsed. Fewer young people want to carry on sheep farming. Conflicts with tourists and National Park Authorities. Changes and Improvements Farmers are continuing to leave the land or take part-time jobs in nearby towns, if available New breeding stock to improve quality and quantity of meat and wool. Greater use of fertilisers to improve quality of pasture. Grants for new farm buildings so lambing can be done indoors. EU subsidies and grants to encourage continuation of livestock farming in upland areas. EU grants to protect and improve the farm environment e.g. conservation of dry stonewalls, natural pastures, stone barns, and hedgerows. EU grants to encourage diversification of farms, either farm-based, e.g. organic farming, rearing other animals (deer, goats), or non-farm based, e.g. campsites, sporting activities, forestry, arts and crafts, rural tourism. EU grants to conserve and enhancement the landscape for wildlife. Areas designated as Environmentally Sensitive (ESAs) qualify for grants to reduce the use of fertilisers, restore heather moorland and wetlands. Some farms could not survive and have been sold often as second homes. Arable Farm in East Anglia ( click here to go to Lynford Farm this is a link to all the information on Lynford farm from the web site FACE) When we are focusing on East Anglia remember it is a region and includes the counties of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and the northern part of Essex. It is one of the most important arable farming regions in the UK mostly because of its physical advantages Arable farming is INTENSIVE (farms can be over 200 hectares and are highly mechanised using combine harvesters and specialised machinery see the outputs of Lynford farm for how much this machinery costs) and COMMERCIAL (mostly the crops are cash crops sold for profits to the local

6 mills who use it for food production for humans and animal feed. Sugar beet is produced in the UK and is sent to UK refineries such as silver spoon, not to be confused with sugar cane which supplies Tate and Lyle. Vegetables are sent to canning and freezing factories. Physical Factors There are a number of physical factors that makes arable farming in this area Relief the land is very flat and is mostly 100m above sea level this makes it easy to use machinery and roads and railways have easily been constructed. Soils mostly fertile boulder clays that were laid down during the last ice age are good for growing cereals, sugar beet and potatoes. Loam soils are good for growing vegetables, fruit and cereals and retain the plant foods and moisture. Waterlogged soils are good for grazing cattle for dairying and the infertile soils in this region such as Breckland can be planted with trees such as pine which can be harvested. Climate The area tends to be in the rain shadow and rainfall is mostly in the region of mm per year. There are long warm summers with average temperatures of 17 degrees and long hours of sunshine in the summer which allow sufficient crop growth and the ability to ripen cereal crops. Human Factors Location it is situated in the east of England to the North of London which means that it is close to a good market for the produce. There is a good motorway network to the most densely populated regions of the UK and also a good east coast railway line which means rapid transport of produce (this is important with perishable food stuff) Politics Since joining the EU many of the farmers in East Anglia have benefited from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as they have received subsidies for growing certain types of cereal crops such as wheat, oilseed rape and linseed.