Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is an agricultural production system characterized by the high inputs of capital or labour relative to land area.^[1][2] This is in contrast to the concept of Extensive Agriculture which involves a low input of materials and labour with the crop yield depending largely on the naturally available soil fertility, water supply or other land qualities.^[3] Input3 is the term denoting either an entrance or changes which are inserted into a system and which activate/modify a process. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... In classical economics and all micro-economics labour is a measure of the work done by human beings and is one of three factors of production, the others being land and capital. ... The small pig farm in Swiss mountains. ... In agriculture, crop yield (also known as agricultural output) is a measure of the yield per unit area of land under cultivation. ... Fertile soil is soil that can support abundant plant life, in particular the term is used to describe agricultural and garden soil. ... Water supply is the process of self-provision or provision by third parties of water of various qualities to different users. ...

A potato field

Modern day forms of intensive crop based agriculture involve the use of mechanical ploughing, chemical fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators and/or pesticides. It is associated with the increasing use of agricultural mechanization, which have enabled a substantial increase in production.^[1] This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... Spreading manure, an organic fertilizer Fertilizers (also spelled fertilisers) are compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either via the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves. ... A herbicide is a pesticide used to kill unwanted plants. ... A Fungicide is one of three main methods of pest control- chemical control of fungi in this case. ... It has been suggested that ovicide be merged into this article or section. ... A cropduster spreading pesticide. ... Mechanised agriculture is the process of using agricultural machinery in order to massivly increase output. ...

Intensive animal farming practices can involve very large numbers of animals raised on limited land which require large amounts of food, water and medical inputs (required to keep the animals healthy in cramped conditions).^[2]. Very large or confined indoor intensive livestock operations (particularly descriptive of common US farming practices) are often referred to as Factory farming^[4][1][5] and are criticised by opponents for the low level of animal welfare standards^[5][6] and associated pollution and health issues.^[7][8] The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ...

Advantages and Disadvantages

Agriculture General Agribusiness · Agriculture Agricultural science · Agronomy Animal husbandry Extensive farming Factory farming · Free range Industrial agriculture Intensive farming Organic farming · Permaculture Sustainable agriculture Urban agriculture Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 644 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (900 × 838 pixel, file size: 187 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term that refers to the various businesses involved in the food production chain, including farming, seed, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesaling, processing, distribution, and retail sales. ... Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic, and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. ... Agronomy is a branch of agricultural science that deals with the study of crops and the soils in which they grow. ... Shepherd with his sheep in FăgăraÅŸ Mountains, Romania. ... The small pig farm in Swiss mountains. ... The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... Free range is a method of farming husbandry where the animals are permitted to roam freely instead of being contained in small sheds. ... These female brood sows are confined most of their lives in gestation crates too small to enable them to turn around. ... Organic farming is a form of agriculture which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. ... Permaculture Mandala summarising the ethics and principles of permaculture design. ... It has been suggested that Small-scale agriculture be merged into this article or section. ... Urban (or peri-urban) agriculture is the practice of agriculture (including crops, livestock, fisheries, and forestry activities) within or surrounding the boundaries of cities. ... History History of agriculture Neolithic Revolution Muslim Agricultural Revolution British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Neolithic Revolution is the term for the first agricultural revolution, describing the transition from nomadic hunting and gathering communities and bands, to agriculture and settlement, as first adopted by various independent prehistoric human societies, in numerous locations on most continents between 10-12 thousand years ago. ... The Islamic Golden Age from the 8th century to the 13th century witnessed a fundamental transformation in agriculture known as the Muslim Agricultural Revolution,[1] Arab Agricultural Revolution,[2] or Green Revolution. ... The British Agricultural Revolution describes a period of agricultural development in Britain between the 16th century and the mid-19th century, which saw a massive increase in agricultural productivity and net output. ... The Green Revolution is a term used to describe the worldwide transformation of agriculture that led to significant increases in agricultural production between the 1940s and 1960s. ... Particular Aquaculture · Christmas trees · Dairy farming Grazing · Hydroponics · IMTA Intensive pig farming · Lumber Maize · Orchard Poultry farming · Ranching · Rice Sheep husbandry · Soybean System of Rice Intensification Wheat Workers harvest catfish from the Delta Pride Catfish farms in Mississippi Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms. ... A Christmas tree farmer in the U.S. state of Florida explains the pruning and shearing process of cultivation to a government employee. ... Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or more properly, an animal husbandry enterprise, raising female cattle, goats, or other lactating animals for long-term production of milk, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale. ... Grazing To feed on growing herbage, attached algae, or phytoplankton. ... Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. ... Harvesting of kelp (Saccharina latissima, previously known as Laminaria saccharina) cultivated in proximity to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at Charlie Cove, Bay of Fundy, Canada. ... Intensively farmed pigs in batch pens Intensive piggeries (or hog lots) are a type of factory farm specialized for the raising of domestic pigs up to slaughter weight. ... Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill Lumber or Timber is a term used to describe wood, either standing or that has been processed for use—from the time trees are felled, to its end product as a material suitable for industrial use—as structural material for construction... This article is about the maize plant. ... A community apple orchard originally planted for productive use during the 1920s, in Westcliff on Sea (Essex, England) An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs maintained for food production. ... Poultry farming is the practice of raising poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks geese, as a subcategory of animal husbandry, for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food. ... This article is about a type of land use and method of raising livestock. ... For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... Australian Sheep Sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep, and a subcategory of animal husbandry. ... Binomial name (L.) Merr. ... The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a method of increasing the yield of rice produced in farming. ... Species T. aestivum T. boeoticum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum T. timopheevii References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat Wheat For the indie rock group, see Wheat (band). ... Categories Agriculture by country Agriculture companies Agriculture companies, U.S. Biotechnology Farming history Livestock Meat processing Poultry farming Agropedia Portal

Image File history File links Portal. ...

Advantages

Intensive agriculture has a number of benefits^[9]:

• Significantly increased yield per available space than extensive farming.
• Often leads to cheaper priced products because they use chemicals and other man made things.
• Not much space for the animal(s) to move therefore less energy used up; so less food supplied to the cattle, which leads to cheaper products.
• Many people feel its necessary to use intensive farming for better profits and economic growth.

Disadvantages

Intensive farming alters the environment in many ways.

• Removal of buffers to make large fields for maximum efficiency leading to lower food costs and greater food availability to the poor. But it also limits the natural habitat of some wild creatures and can lead to soil erosion.
• Use of fertilizers can alter the biology of rivers and lakes.^[8] Some environmentalists attribute the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico as being encouraged by nitrogen fertilization of the algae bloom.
• Pesticides can kill useful insects as well as those that destroy crops.

Fertilizers are chemicals given to plants with the intention of promoting growth; they are usually applied either via the soil or by foliar spraying. ... For the Second World War frigate class, see River class frigate The Murray River in Australia A waterfall on the Ova da Fedoz, Switzerland A river is a large natural waterway. ... Lake Clearwater, Ontario, Canada A lake is a large body of water, usually fresh water, surrounded by land. ...

Pre modern intensive farming

Pre modern intensive farming techniques and structures include terracing, rice paddies, and various forms of aquaculture. Terraced vineyards near Lausanne The Incan terraces at Písac are still used today. ... Terrace of paddy fields in Yunnan Province, southern China. ... Workers harvest catfish from the Delta Pride Catfish farms in Mississippi Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms. ...

Oysters

"Oysters were likely the first sea animal to be transported from one area to another and cultivated as food. The ancient world, while knowing little about the reproduction of oysters, knew much about the conditions necessary for their growth. Pliny the Elder, a noted Roman naturalist of the first century, has left an account of artificial oyster beds established in Lake Lucrinus near Naples by a Sergius Orata about 95 B.C. Orata's methods consisted of preparing the grounds by removing other forms of marine life, planting seed oysters, cultivating the oysters by keeping them separated in order to grow to a well-formed, mature size, and finally harvesting them when they were ready for market. Modern oyster farming, based on the knowledge of oyster biology, basically follows the Roman procedure."^[10] Sergius Orata is a Roman merchant and hydraulic engineer who was famous during the Roman Republic. ...

Terrace

Main article: Terrace (agriculture)

In agriculture, a terrace is a leveled section of a hilly cultivated area, designed as a method of soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid surface runoff of irrigation water. Often such land is formed into multiple terraces, giving a stepped appearance. The human landscapes of rice cultivation in terraces that follow the natural contours of the escarpments like contour ploughing is a classic feature of the island of Bali and the Banaue Rice Terraces in Benguet, Philippines. In Peru, the Inca made use of otherwise unusable slopes by drystone walling to create terraces. Terraced vineyards near Lausanne The Incan terraces at Písac are still used today. ... Terraced vineyards near Lausanne The Incan terraces at Písac are still used today. ... Hills redirects here. ... Sheep pasture with macroscale erosion, Australia Soil Conservation is a set of management strategies for prevention of soil being eroded from the earth’s surface or becoming chemically altered by overuse, salinization, acidification, or other chemical soil contamination. ... Runoff flowing into a stormwater drain Surface runoff is water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, that flows over the land surface, and is a major component of the water cycle[1][2]. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called overland flow. ... Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. ... For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... Contour plowing, Pennsylvania, 1938 Contour ploughing or contour farming is the farming practice of ploughing across a slope following its contours. ... This article is about the Indonesian island. ... Panoramic view of the Banaue Rice Terraces The Banaue Rice Terraces are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the Batad indigenous people. ... REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Province of Benguet Region: Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Capital: La Trinidad, Benguet Founded: — Population: 2000 census—330,129 (43rd largest) Density—219 per km² (36th highest) Area: 2,599. ... For other meanings of Inca, see Inca (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Rock fence be merged into this article or section. ...

Rice paddy

Main article: Paddy field

A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice-growing countries of east and southeast Asia including Malaysia, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines. They are also found in other rice-growing regions such as Piedmont (Italy), the Camargue (France) and the Artibonite Valley (Haiti). They can occur naturally along rivers or marshes, or can be constructed, even on hillsides, often with much labour and materials. They require large quantities of water for irrigation, which can be quite complex for a highly developed system of paddy fields. Flooding provides water essential to the growth of the crop. It also gives an environment favourable to the strain of rice being grown, and is hostile to many species of weeds. As the only draft animal species which is adapted for life in wetlands, the water buffalo is in widespread use in Asian rice paddies. There are significant adverse environmental impacts from rice paddy cultivation due to the generation of large quantities of methane gas. World methane production due to rice paddies has been estimated in the range of 50 to 100 million tonnes per annum;^[11] this level of greenhouse gas generation is a large component of the global warming threat and derives simply from an expanding human population. Terrace of paddy fields in Yunnan Province, southern China. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... Nymphaea alba, a species of water lily. ... For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... East Asia Geographic East Asia. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... This article is about the Korean peninsula and civilization. ... For other uses, see Piedmont (disambiguation). ... Shoreline of the Étang de Vaccarès For other uses, see Camargue (disambiguation). ... Categories: Caribbean geography stubs | Departments of Haiti ... For other uses, see River (disambiguation). ... This article is about marsh, a type of wetland. ... Manual labour (or manual labor) is physical work done with the hands, especially in an unskilled job such as fruit and vegetable picking, road building, or any other field where the work may be considered physically arduous, and which has as a profitable objective, usually the production of goods. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... Yellow starthistle, a thistle native to southern Europe and the Middle East that is an invasive weed in parts of North America. ... A draught animal is a (semi-)domesticated animal used for transport and haulage (the heavy labour of pulling carts, hauling timber and ploughing fields are examples). ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... For the controversy at the University of Pennsylvania, see Water buffalo incident. ... Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula CH4. ... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ... Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. ... Map of countries by population density (See List of countries by population density. ...

Rice-farming and the use of paddies in Korea is ancient. Korean paddy-farming can provide cultural background on the use of paddies in Northeast Asia. A pit-house at the Daecheon-ni site yielded carbonized rice grains and radiocarbon dates indicating that rice cultivation may have begun as early as the Middle Jeulmun Pottery Period (c. 3500-2000 B.C.) in the Korean Peninsula (Crawford and Lee 2003). The earliest rice cultivation in the Korean Peninsula may have used dry-fields instead of paddies. East Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... The Jeulmun pottery period is an archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 8000-1500 B.C. (Bale 2001; Choe and Bale 2002; Crawford and Lee 2003; Lee 2001, 2006). ... The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. ...

The earliest Mumun features were usually located in low-lying narrow gulleys that were naturally swampy and fed by the local stream system. Some Mumun paddies in flat areas were made of a series of squares and rectangles separated by bunds approximately 10 cm in height, while terraced paddies consisted of long irregularly shapes that followed natural contours of the land at various levels (Bale 2001; Kwak 2001).

Mumun Period rice farmers used all of the elements that are present in today's paddies such terracing, bunds, canals, and small reservoirs. We can grasp some paddy-farming techniques of the Middle Mumun (c. 850-550 B.C.) from the well-preserved wooden tools excavated from archaeological rice paddies at the Majeon-ni Site. However, iron tools for paddy-farming were not introduced until sometime after 200 B.C. The spatial scale of individual paddies, and thus entire paddy-fields, increased with the regular use of iron tools in the Three Kingdoms of Korea Period (c. A.D. 300/400-668). For other uses, see Iron (disambiguation). ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... The Three Kingdoms Period of Korea (hangul: 삼국시대) featured the three rival kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium CE. Historians claim that the Three Kingdoms period ran from the 1st century BCE (specifically 57 BC) until...

Modern Intensive farming Types

Main article: Industrial agriculture

Modern intensive farming refers to the industrialized production of animals (livestock, poultry and fish) and crops. The methods deployed are designed to produce the highest output at the lowest cost; usually using economies of scale, modern machinery, modern medicine, and global trade for financing, purchases and sales. The practice is widespread in developed nations, and most of the meat, dairy, eggs, and crops available in supermarkets are produced in this manner. These female brood sows are confined most of their lives in gestation crates too small to enable them to turn around. ... A crop is any plant that is grown in significant quantities to be harvested as food, livestock fodder, or for another economic purpose. ... A KFC franchise in Kuwait. ... A developed country is a country that is technologically advanced and that enjoys a relatively high standard of living. ... This article is about the food. ... A dairy farm near Oxford, New York in the United States. ... An egg is a body consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing of some type, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo. ... Packaged food aisles in a Fred Meyer store in Portland, Oregon A supermarket is a departmentalized self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise. ...

Intensive Aquaculture

Main article: Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the cultivation of the natural produce of water (fish, shellfish, algae, seaweed and other aquatic organisms). Intensive Aquaculture can often involve tanks or other highly controlled systems which are designed to boost production for the available volume or area of water resource.^[12][13] Workers harvest catfish from the Delta Pride Catfish farms in Mississippi Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... Cooked mussels Shellfish is a term used to describe shelled molluscs and crustaceans used as food. ... Algae have conventionally been regarded as simple plants within the study of botany. ... Ascophyllum nodosum exposed to the sun in Nova Scotia, Canada Dead Mans Fingers (Codium fragile) off Massachusetts coast For the band, see; Seaweed (band) For the rock musician, see; Seaweed (musician) Seaweeds are any of a large number of marine benthic algae. ...

Intensive Livestock Farming

Main article: Factory farming

The modern examples of intensive farming are broadly referred to as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) or often termed Factory farming. These include: The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ...

• Intensive pig farming or Intensive piggery farming
• Large scale chicken farms
• Cattle feed lots

Intensively farmed pigs in batch pens Intensive piggeries (or hog lots) are a type of factory farm specialized for the raising of domestic pigs up to slaughter weight. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For general information about the genus, including other species of cattle, see Bos. ...

See also

• Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture
• Permaculture
• Polyculture
• Green Revolution
• System of Rice Intensification

Harvesting of kelp (Saccharina latissima, previously known as Laminaria saccharina) cultivated in proximity to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at Charlie Cove, Bay of Fundy, Canada. ... Permaculture Mandala summarising the ethics and principles of permaculture design. ... Polyculture is agriculture using multiple crops in the same space, in imitation of the diversity of natural ecosystems, and avoiding large stands of single crops, or monoculture. ... The Green Revolution is a term used to describe the worldwide transformation of agriculture that led to significant increases in agricultural production between the 1940s and 1960s. ... The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a method of increasing the yield of rice produced in farming. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Encyclopaedia Britannica's definition of Intensive Agriculture
2. ^ ^{a b} BBC School fact sheet on intensive farming
3. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica's definition of Extensive Agriculture
4. ^ Factory farming. Webster's Dictionary definition of Factory farming
5. ^ ^{a b} Encyclopaedia Britannica's definition of Factory farm
6. ^ The Welfare of Intensively Kept Pigs
7. ^ Commissioner points to factory farming as source of contamination
8. ^ ^{a b} Rebuilding Agriculture - EPA of UK
9. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica - Intensive Agriculture
10. ^ Fisheries and Oceans Canada article American Oyster
11. ^ Methane gas generation from rice paddies
12. ^ American Heritage Definition of Aquaculture
13. ^ McGraw Hill Sci-Tech Encyclopedia