Farming as a system. Farming is an industry and operates like other industries, It is a system with inputs into the farm, processes which take place on the farm and ouiputs from the farm. As farming is a primary industry with inputs, processes and outputs, a systems diagram can be used to explain it. The system can be used for all types of farms in LEDCs as well as MEDCs. INPUTS. PROCESSES. OUTPUTS. Physical environment »| Patterns and methods |___,, Products for sale. (natural) inputs and of farming. human/economic (artificial) inputs. Feedback. Physical (Natural) Inputs. Climate: amount of rain, and season temperatures, length of growing season. Relief: soils and drainage. Human and Economic Inputs. Labour (workforce) © Rent Transport costs Machinery/technology Fertiliser and pesticides Market demand Accessibility to market Government control Seeds — livestock«Farm buildings * Energy (electricity) Processes, (Ways of farming the land) Ploughing, planting, weeding, grazing, harvesting, milking, breeding, shearing, fertilizing, spraying. Outputs. Crops, animals for sale, animal and plant products, profits. Feedback. Seeds, stock, reinvested profit. In more economically developed couniries, outputs usually exceed inputs, allowing the farmer to make a profit which many then be re- invested. INPUTS PROCESSES | OUTPUTS Skilled labour ‘Land: 240 hectares | Milk Fertiliser | Animals: 40 calves Pigs Electricity I 160 cows ‘ Cattle Cattle feed oy 40 pigs Barley Beans for storage Crops: Grass | Hay Low, undulating relief Barley Manure and deep soils Potatoes Potatoes Seeds Rain all year : Growing season i (8 Months) : Machines = Profit In less economically developed countries the output is often consumed by the family with little surplus left for sale. INPUTS PROCESSES OUTPUTS | Plenty of rain 2 hectares of land Rice | Growing season 10 chickens Some wheat ! (All year) ——Fcows ——¥9gs ! Flat land 2 oxen Chicken Rich soils Rice and wheatMuch labour , cultivation Hand tools | 2 oxen Rice seed = No profit Classification of types of farming. There are three main ways of classifying farming. 1. Farms may be classified by what (specialisation) they produce. This includes arable (the growing of crops), pastoral (the rearing of animals) and mixed (both crops and animals) farming. » Farms may be classified by why (Economic status) Commercial farming is the growing of crops or rearing of animals for sale (i.e. outputs exceed inputs). Subsistence farming is when just sufficient food is provided for the farmer's own family (i.e. outputs may be the same or less than the inputs and so the family may struggle for survival.) 3. Farms may be classified by the level of input (Intensity of land use). This depends upon the ratio between land, labour and capital (money). Extensive farming is where the farm size is very large and have low inputs of labour or technology. Yields per hectare are low. The size of the farm guarantees sufficient produce for survival (Amazon Basin). Intensive farming is when the farm size is small and have high inputs of labour or technology. Yields per hectare are high. Farms may be classified by their permanence (Land tenure). Farming is nomadic where the farmers have to move their homes or animals regularly to maintain production. Farming is sedentary where the farmers do not have to move and can remain fixed in a single location.Factors that affect farmi A farmer has to decide which type of farming will be most appropriate for the location of his farm, taking into account several factors: These can be physical: Physical “Are the soils suitable? Crops Relief: Is the relief factors a need well-drained land. Crops suitable? Steep land is farmer must need deep, fertile soils. unsuitable for machinery. consider Arable farming needs (fairly flat land. South aspects (the way the land faces) are best for crops. Temperature falls by 0.6 degrees Celsius every Is the climate suitable? Most room uphill. crops need a growing season of 60+ days and temperature greater than 6 degrees Celsius. Most crops need regular annual rainfall between 250-1000mm. Dairy farms need higher levels of rainfall for good grass. “Are lots of people or technology needed? What government help is there? Subsidies may be available, ‘There may be guaranteed minimum prices. There may be ‘quotas imposed (Eg. European Union [EU] government) ‘How accessible is the farm to a market? is the market local, national or global?