The Business of Farming Unit 3: Food From the Land

Introduction to Business Farming requires a great deal of: skill, effort, money and luck. Successes are extremely variable from location to location and from individual to individual. The agricultural industry: 8% of Canada’s GDP. (1 out of every 5 jobs in Canada is related to the agricultural sector of Canada’s economy).

Land: The Basic Resource 13 % Land is: Renewable resource in that if it is properly used it can support crops year after year. Non-renewable resource because if the land is completely used up and destroyed by agriculture or development there will be no more land created.

Land: The Basic Resource 13 % All the land in Canada can be classified into 7 classes. Class 1: is the best land for farming Class 7 is not suitable for farming at all In Manitoba only 13% of all this land is considered to be suitable for agriculture (the land is classified as class 1-6).

Types of Farming Farms differ widely across Canada: in size and products. *Remember: all farms can be classified on a continuum between intensive and extensive farming and between subsistence and cash-crop farming. This depends on natural and economic factors. Some economic factors include: Cost of the land Transportation costs Competition Some natural factors include: Weather Soil Topography

Agricultural Issues Today There are four main issues in the agriculture industry today: 1) The Business of Farming 2) Damaging the Land 3) Sustainable Agriculture 4) Loss of Farmland

The Business of Farming The Business of Farming – There are less people involved in agriculture because: high risks costs associated with mechanization long hours that are needed to make farming successful As a result of the dwindling number of successful farmers there are an increasing percentage of farms that are run by large companies. This is called Agribusiness. These companies can be divided into two types: Co-operatives Private/Public

Co-operatives Co-operatives: a number of farmers get together and pool their resources and share the revenues that the farm products bring in. Each farmer owns shares in the company and receives the benefits from it ($$). The equipment is purchased by the co-operative and used on all the farms. This sharing of resources reduces the cost of farming for all members of the co-operative.

Private/Public Public/Private Farms Farmers may own their own land but all product that is grown/raised is owned by a large company. These companies control what is grown, what processes are used, etc. They will also decide how much the individual farmer gets paid. In this instance the farmer is simply a paid employee, similar to a teacher being paid to teach.

Damaging the Land Damaging the Land – the most important agricultural resource is soil. Over the past century much of our soil has been damaged by poor farming practices. Some of these harmful practices include: Leaching: Due to excessive irrigation (too much watering) The Overuse of Heavy Equipment Compacts the soil so much that it loses its ability to hold the air and water that the plants need to grow.

Damaging the Land 3. Chemical Damage Soils become contaminated with salts or chemicals from spraying 4. Erosion The removal of trees and ground cover exposes the topsoil to wind and water. In the Prairies: Summer fallowing is when crops are planted one year but the next the fields are plowed and left bare. Increases amount of erosion. This is bad because the soil is often blown away during the fallow year. Calcification can also occur during this fallow year. Zero tillage is a new method that works much better. Also in hilly areas contour plowing is used.

Sustainable Agriculture Sustainable Agriculture: is agricultural production that can be maintained without harming the environment. There are a number of practices that help farmers obtain this goal: Large, lightweight tires that do not damage the wet soil are available to farmers Using natural fertilizers for controlling weeds and pests Proper cultivation practices such as crop rotation improve soil fertility

Loss of Farm Land Loss of Farmland: most of Canada’s best farmland is located within 80 km of the 23 largest cities. Due to this fact as these cities expand the take up the farmland and convert it to parking lots, residential areas, industrial parks, etc.

Pave paradise and put up a parkin' lot They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you got till it's gone They paved paradise and put up a parking lot They took all the trees, and put 'em in a tree museum And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you got till it's gone They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot Hey farmer, farmer, put away your DDT I don't care about spots on my apples Leave me the birds and the bees please