Farming utilises land or water areas as facilities for food production, mainly for agricultural practice or for aquaculture. Useful commodities include among others:

• Grains
• Fish
• Livestock
• Fibre

Several farming methods are practiced worldwide. Some of these include:

1. Subsistence Farming

Characterized by farmers having small and scattered land areas, most farmers practicing this method are poor who never use:

• Fertilizer
• High-yield seed varieties

They produce for local consumption. In this method, work is done manually following traditional processes.

 

2. Plantation Agriculture

Introduced by the British in the 19th century, this method:

• Involves planting a single crop variety over huge tracts of land.
• Requires lots of capital to run.

Also, it’s dependent on:

• Agricultural experts
• Sophisticated farm machinery
• Irrigation
• Fertilizers
• Good transport facilities

 

3. Crop Rotation

Here, crops are grown one variety at a time on a land area, usually done to maintain land fertility.  Switching crop types on a piece of land takes time and may vary depending on:

• Crop type;
• Duration it takes for a crop to exhaust the land’s fertility.

Cereals are often rotated with legumes which help in nitrogen fixation.

 

4. Bio-dynamic Agriculture

Developed in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner, this method considers farms as organisms. In this method, fertility is maintained through planting cover crops or farm animal manure. For a farm to be certified bio-dynamic, it must first be organically certified.

In this agricultural system, farmers follow these measures and rhythms, among other farm customs:

• Homeopathic measures for treating compost plants and soil.
• Natural rhythms to determine planting seasons.

 

5. Integrated Pest Management

Also known as IPM, this farming method is based on strategies for pest management and relies on:

• Pest observation
• Pest prevention

IPM makes use of biological controls to get rid of pests. For example, ladybugs are used to devour aphids in farms. Also, this method helps farmers keep track of their land, making it easier to notice arising problems.

 

6. No-Till Agriculture

As the name suggests, farmers never have to break the soil and seeds are simply planted on soils.  Also, weeds are controlled by spraying herbicides. Another method to control weeds was developed at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania, USA where a roller crimper does these:

• Rolls over weeds;
• Leaving the land ready for planting.

These are just some farming methods you should know. Other farming methods include: Organic farming, Vertical farming, multi-crop farming, Green house farming and Playhouse farming. All farming methods are dependent on land size, soil type and other factors.