Crop Agriculture and Livestock Farming

8/3/2019 Crop Agriculture and Livestock Farming

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&KEY WORDS

irrigation system: man-made system

bringing water to agricultural land

yield: amount of crop produced persquare metre

market garden: area for growing fruit and

salad vegetables

Farming systems

Crop agriculture

Agriculture obtains fruit, vegetable and cereal products from the earth to be

used for consumption or as raw materials for industry.

Crop agriculture practices

Different farming systems are used for the exploitation of agricultural

space.

Depending on the use ofwater

Irrigated agriculture: crops receive water from man-

-made irrigation systems. This method is used for the

cultivation of fruit trees, rice, cotton and vegetables.

Rain-fed agriculture: crops only receive rainwater. This

method is mainly used for pulses, suntlowers, wheat,

vinesand olive trees.

Irrigated agriculture

Depending on the variety of species

Monoculture: the cultivation of a single species in an

agricultural area. Cereals, cotton and coffee are often

grown like this.

Mixed cropping: the cultivation of several species in an

agricultural area. Mixed crops grown by irrigated

agriculture include fruit trees, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce,

etc.

Monoculture of cotton

Depending on the utilisation of the soil

Intensive agriculture: high capital investment (in tools,

machinery, equipment, etc.) and labour are used to obtain

maximum yield. Crops are produced for commercial

purposes, for example, in the market gardens of Valencia

and Murcia.

Intensive agriculture in the market gardens of Valencia

Extensive agriculture: does not use all the technological or

human resources (workers) available to obtain the

maximum yield. Production can be for sale (e.g. on the

wheat plains in the United States) or for personal

consumption.

Extensive agriculture in the United States


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2.2. Agricultural landscapes

Agricultural activities create different types of agricultural landscape.

Subsistence agriculture: this method uses ancient techniques and has

low productivity. Most crops are for the farmers own consumption.

There are different types of subsistence agriculture:

Slash-and-burn agriculture: to prepare the land, the vegetation is cut

down and burnt, and the ashes are used as fertiliser. Used to growmillet, sorghum and tapioca, for example.

Intensive agriculture ofMonsoon Asia: rice is grown on small plots.

Commercial agriculture: this is characterised by high investment, the

use ofadvanced techniques such as drip irrigation, and high

productivity. Crops are produced for commercial purposes. There are

different types ofcommercial agriculture:

Advanced agriculture of Europe: flowers, market garden

products and cereals are among the most important crops.

Mediterranean agriculture: this is rain-fed (wheat, vines and

olives) and irrigated (fruit trees and vegetables). Extensive New World agriculture: large farms employ few

workers and use a lot ofmachinery. They mostly grow cereals.

Plantations: large estates with monocultures of cocoa, tea, coffee,

bananas and pineapples, for example. The farms are owned by big

multinational companies.

WORLD AGRICULTUREARCTIC OCEAN

@KEY WORDS

productivity: relation between theamount produced and the work,time and money needed toproduce it

Drip irrigation: irrigation system inwhich water is applied in smallamounts (drops) to each plant

New World: countries that werecolonised by European nationsand obtained independencefrom the 18th century onwards;e.g. the United States

PACIFIC

OCEAN

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&KEY WORDS

feed (n.):dry food for livestock

graze (vb.):feed on grass

pasture: grassland where animals cangraze

Types of livestock farming

livestock farming

This type of farming obtains different products from animals (meat, milk,

wool, eggs, etc.).

The principal types oflivestockare: cattle (cows, oxen, bulls), sheep,

goats, pigs, rabbits, horses, mules and poultry (hens, chickens, ducks, turkeys,

etc.).

Livestock farming can be classified as follows:

Capital investment and labour

Extensive livestock farming: capital investment (in feed,

farms, etc.) is limited and productivity low. The livestock is

mostly cattle and sheep, and grazes on large pastures in

the open air.

Extensive livestock farming

Intensive livestock farming: capital investment (in feed,

farms, etc.). labour and productivity are high. Mostly cattle,

pigs and poultry are farmed.

Food and feeding methods

Grazing livestock: animals feed on grass. This is an

example of extensive farming.

Confined livestock: animals are kept in sheds and

covered pens, and eat feed. This is an example of

intensive farming.

Confined livestock

Semi-confined livestock: in summer, the animals eat

grass; when there is not enough grass, they eat feed.

Mobility of livestock

Nomadic herding: herders and their families are

constantly moving with their animals in search of good

pasture.

Nomadic herders

Transhumance (seasonal migration of livestock):

herders move their animals several times a year

between winter and summer pastures.

Sedentary livestock farming: animals do not have to

move around to obtain food because farmers give them

feed.


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12:00 pm

2:00 pm

4:30 pm

5 Are these examples typical of subsistence or commercial

agriculture?

a) Farmers and their families consume most of the crops.

b)Machinery and modern techniques are used.c) The majority of crops are sold.

Activities1 Match the following words with the examples below:

monoculture, irrigated crops, intensiveagriculture, rain-fedcrops.

a) Farmers use technology to water these crops.

b) A coffee plantation is an example of this type of crop.c) If the summer is very dry, these crops suffer because they

receive no water.

d) These crops need a lot of workers, machines and

money.

2 Answer the questions.

a) What is the name of this plant?

b) What type of crop is it?

c) Is it an irrigated or rain-fed crop?

3 Complete the sentences.

a)The action of animals eating grass is called _______

b)Birds that are kept on farms, like chickens or ducks, are

called ___________

c)Is the grey substance that is left after you have burnt

something.

d)Vegetables and fruit are grown in ______________ and

sold for profit.

e)Capital and labour are used to increase _____________

4 Look at the photos and answer the questions.

a) What are the names of these animals?

b) What type of livestock are the animals in photos 2 and

3?

6 What type of livestock farming do these people practice?

a) Kumar is an Indian herder. He is constantly moving around

with his family and his flock of goats, looking for pasture.

b) Harry is an Australian farmer. His sheep graze on the

fields on his farm.

c) Pedro lives in Spain. Every summer, he moves his sheep from

the valley to the mountain pastures.

7 John is a Welsh farmer. Look at his timetable. Complete thequestions with the following words: often, why, does, time,

who, many, when.

5:25 amJohn gets up and begins milking between

six o'clock and quarter past six.

John feeds the cows.

John begins to do other jobs such as

taking the cows out to pasture.

In summer, John harvests grass, which he

stores in order to feed the animals in winter.John continues with his other jobs.

A milk tanker comes to collect the milk.

The cows are milked again.

6:15 am

8:00 am

10:00 am

a) What _________________does John start work?

b) How ________does he milk the cows? At what time?

c) ________________ does John feed the cows?

d)What other jobs _________________John do?

e) _______________ does John harvest the grass?

f) What time do they collect the milk? _________collects it?

g)How ___________________hours a day does John work?

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Crop Agriculture and Livestock Farming