Process of Farming
Farming
Types of Farming
In the Standard Grade Geography exam there are three types of farming you need to know about − arable, livestock and mixed.
• Arable farms are ones where the main way of making money is by growing crops
• Livestock farms are where animals are the important part of the farm
• Mixed farms are where animals and crops are both important to the farmer
Only British examples are used in the exam questions.
Inputs, Outputs and Processes
Inputs are what go into the farm. There are two types of input. The natural or physical inputs include weather, climate, relief (height, shape and aspect), soil, geology and latitude. Farmers have little or no control over these. Changing the natural inputs can sometimes be done but it usually involves a lot of expense. For example areas with not enough rainfall get water from irrigation schemes, steep slopes can be cut into terraces and the climate can be greatly altered by using greenhouses. Examples of human inputs include machinery, fertiliser, pesticides, seeds, livestock, animal feed, workers and buildings. These usually have to be paid for, although farmers can save some money by producing some of these themselves, e.g. grass is grown as a fodder crop and animals are bred.
Outputs are what the farm produces e.g. grains, eggs, milk, meat etc.
Processes are the types of work that are carried out on the farming. It varies with the type of farm
e.g. ploughing, seeding and harvesting are important on an arable farm, whereas a major activity is milking on a dairy (livestock) farm.
Farms as Businesses
Like shops and factories, a farm is a business. Like all other business it has to make money to survive. Its profits are made when the money the farmer makes by selling his or her outputs is more than is spent on the inputs. Like other business people farmers want to make a substantial profit. Most of the recent changes in farming can be explained by the farmer's desire for a good
Types of Farming
In the Standard Grade Geography exam there are three types of farming you need to know about − arable, livestock and mixed.
• Arable farms are ones where the main way of making money is by growing crops
• Livestock farms are where animals are the important part of the farm
• Mixed farms are where animals and crops are both important to the farmer
Only British examples are used in the exam questions.
Inputs, Outputs and Processes
Inputs are what go into the farm. There are two types of input. The natural or physical inputs include weather, climate, relief (height, shape and aspect), soil, geology and latitude. Farmers have little or no control over these. Changing the natural inputs can sometimes be done but it usually involves a lot of expense. For example areas with not enough rainfall get water from irrigation schemes, steep slopes can be cut into terraces and the climate can be greatly altered by using greenhouses. Examples of human inputs include machinery, fertiliser, pesticides, seeds, livestock, animal feed, workers and buildings. These usually have to be paid for, although farmers can save some money by producing some of these themselves, e.g. grass is grown as a fodder crop and animals are bred.
Outputs are what the farm produces e.g. grains, eggs, milk, meat etc.
Processes are the types of work that are carried out on the farming. It varies with the type of farm
e.g. ploughing, seeding and harvesting are important on an arable farm, whereas a major activity is milking on a dairy (livestock) farm.
Farms as Businesses
Like shops and factories, a farm is a business. Like all other business it has to make money to survive. Its profits are made when the money the farmer makes by selling his or her outputs is more than is spent on the inputs. Like other business people farmers want to make a substantial profit. Most of the recent changes in farming can be explained by the farmer's desire for a good