PART THREE Traditional & Non-commercial Farms

AGED 4713 Spring 2003 FARMING SYSTEMS The particular Farming System found in a country or region is the result of a unique combination of factors, many of which are causative or associative in nature (i.e. Bananas and Wheat). JW

AGED 4713 Spring 2003 FACTORS/CONDITIONS Influencing/impacting the development of specific Farming Systems. Climate, Elevation, Soil, Moisture, Soil stability, Pests, Technological adaptation & feasibility, Economic infrastructure and Social Infrastructure. JW

FACTORS IMPACTING FARMING SYSTEMS AGED 4713 Spring 2003 FACTORS IMPACTING FARMING SYSTEMS Climate - temperature & rainfall Elevation - temperature Soil - fertility, pH & organic matter Land (physical) - soil type, texture, depth, permeability & slope. Moisture - natural rainfall, irrigation, drainage, flood control, etc. JW

FACTORS IMPACTING FARMING SYSTEMS (continued) AGED 4713 Spring 2003 FACTORS IMPACTING FARMING SYSTEMS (continued) Soil stability - erosion & salinity Pests - weeds, insects, diseases & predators. Technological adaptation and feasibility - equipment, cultural practices, chemicals, new cultivars, etc. JW

FACTORS IMPACTING FARMING SYSTEMS (continued) AGED 4713 Spring 2003 FACTORS IMPACTING FARMING SYSTEMS (continued) Economic infrastructure - market access, government regulations, transportation system & processing industry. Social infrastructure - work ethic, class/caste system, land tenure, education, diet, culture & dissemination of information. JW

Types of Agriculture Commercial farming involves the production of food for sale. ~ Ex: The large wheat farms of the prairies.

Types of Agriculture Subsistence farming involves the production of food to feed your family. ~ Ex: Your vegetable garden in the back yard.

Types of Agriculture Extensive agriculture uses large region of inexpensive land in unpopulated areas. ~ Ex: Cattle farming in western Canada.

Types of Agriculture Intensive agriculture normally uses smaller tracts of land in more densely populated areas. ~ Ex: Dairy farming in Southwestern Ontario

Types of Agriculture Shifting cultivation is another form of extensive agriculture. Planting crops in a region until fertility diminishes and then moving to a fresh area to plant means there must be lots of land available. Cultivation: (agriculture) production of food by preparing the land to grow crops

Types of Agriculture Nomadic herding is similar to shifting agriculture in that it involves moving from place to place with an extensive use of land but differs in that nomadic herding involves the raising of cattle, sheep or other herding animals.

Types of Agriculture Agribusiness is a form of commercial farming. It is run by large corporations that are self sufficient providing their own inputs and processing their own outputs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDo5c-ksmRs – Corporate farming

Food security Food security is one of the major challenges worldwide in the years ahead. Global food demand forecast to rise by 70% by 2050 (FAO). Food production will have to be maintained and capacity increased to help meet demand.

What is food security? There are different ways to define food security. It means that you: have food on your plate today; have confidence that there will be food on your plate tomorrow, next week, month and in a year.

Food security includes: availability: is there enough to go around? access: can it be reached efficiently? affordability: can it be bought at a fair price? quality: is the food edible? nutrition: is the food part of a balanced diet? safety: could it harm health? Therefore, food security is about having access to affordable, safe and nutritious food, today and tomorrow.

The main challenge in the future is not only to produce more, but also to do this in a sustainable way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91cex52Yf8Y – Sturgeon Aqua farm.