Farming Types

Distribution The factors mentioned in the previous section all contribute to the pattern of farming seen in both the UK and the world. The map below shows the very general pattern of farm types from around the world. The examples used in this section relate to farming types found in many world areas shown on the map.

Commercial Farming Involves farming for a profit. The farmer is growing crops or rearing animals to sell for as much money as possible. These farms can be arable (just growing crops), pastoral (just rearing animals) or mixed (both arable and pastoral). Increasingly farms are becoming more mixed due to the impact of farming subsidies and regulations. Most of the farming in MEDC's is commercial farming of one type or another. The arable farms of East Anglia are a good example of commercial farming, as are the cereal farms of the central United States and the Canadian Prairies.

Intensive Farming Generally take up a fairly small area of land, but aim to have a very high output, through massive inputs of capital and labour. These farms use machines and new technologies to become as efficient and cost-effective as possible. Intensive agriculture can be seen in many places around the world, such as the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand, pig farming in Denmark and rice cultivation in the countries of South East Asia. All use technology appropriate to their country to enable them to get the highest yields from their land.

Extensive Farming This is the direct opposite of intensive farming. The farms are large in comparison to the money injected into them or the labour used. The cattle ranches of central Australia area good example of extensive agriculture, where often only a few farm workers are responsible for thousands of acres of farmland. Another example of extensive farming can be seen in the massive cattle ranches of Brazil. These involve clearing vast areas of rainforest (the trees are often burnt rather than chopped down and sold) to make way for the cattle ranch. The cattle quickly eat the remaining vegetation and begin to cause massive problems of soil erosion.

Subsistence Farming Only produce enough to feed themselves and their family, without having any more to sell for profit. This is the most common form of farming in LEDC's. Some of them are nomadic, meaning that they move around the country using a piece of land for a while and then moving on. This type of subsistence farming is also called shifting cultivation. The traditional tribes of the Amazon rainforest use system of shifting cultivation. They chop down a clearing in the trees and use it for a few years before moving on and allowing the soil and vegetation to recover. For thousands of years this form of agriculture has allowed the people to live, without the rainforest being unduly damaged.

Types Of Farming Intensive Extensive Commercial Pig farming in Denmark. Cereal farming on the Canterbury Plains, New Zealand. East Anglian cereal farming and market gardening. Market gardening in the Netherlands. Cereal farming on the Canadian Prairies and central United States. Ranches in central Australia, the Brazilian rainforest and the South American Pampas. Subsistence Rice cultivation in South-East Asia, especially the Ganges valley. Terraced padi fields of Indonesia. Shifting cultivation in the Amazon rainforest. Nomadic pasturalism in central Africa.