Farming techniques
Thousands of years ago many people grew small amounts of crops and raised small numbers of livestock to feed their families. As the human population has increased and we have moved from small villages into larger towns and cities farming has become modernised to meet the demands of a larger and more urban lifestyle.
Intensive farming
uses machines, natural and artificial fertilisers, and crops to maximise the amount of food produced. Most of the meat, fruit and vegetables, dairy products and eggs found in our supermarkets come from intensive farming so it is important for our food security. Farmers growing crops can specialise in growing only one crop to maximise the food they produce. This is called . This can reduce key nutrients in the soil and can lower .
Hedgerows have been removed from many fields to make them bigger and easier to farm. This allows farmers to make more food. Often, more animals and plants live in hedgerows than fields and so their removal can also reduce biodiversity.
Some intensive farming can also mean keeping livestock in smaller pens with regulated temperatures. This reduces the energy they need for movement and temperature regulation and so maximises their size and yield. Some animals are fed high protein foods to increase their growth. They can also be fed in their food to prevent diseases. Many scientists think this is a contributing factor to antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Advantages and disadvantages of intensive farming practices:
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
| Higher yields | Some people have ethical objections to some modern intensive farming methods |
| More efficient use of land | Can increase risk of antibiotic resistance |
| Advantage | Higher yields |
|---|---|
| Disadvantage | Some people have ethical objections to some modern intensive farming methods |
| Advantage | More efficient use of land |
|---|---|
| Disadvantage | Can increase risk of antibiotic resistance |
Organic farming
Some people object to some modern intensive farming methods. Some farms have become to address this. Organic farmers do not use machines to the same extent as intensive farming. They do not apply artificial to their crops and use natural fertilisers such as and . They rotate their crops to avoid monoculture.
This image shows how crops planted in a field are rotated each year. This helps keep the soil heathy.
Organic food is often more expensive than intensively farmed food because it often has a lower yield.
